


More Than Friends

by Ladytalon



Category: Firefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-21
Updated: 2010-05-21
Packaged: 2017-10-09 15:36:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 64,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/88940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladytalon/pseuds/Ladytalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jayne tries to win Kaylee's affections, but how will she recieve his advances when she's thinking of another? No one ever said love was easy...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_ **More Than Friends - 1** _

Title: More Than Friends  
Rating: NC-17 (eventually)  
Summary: Jayne tries to win Kaylee's affections, but how will she recieve his advances when she's thinking of another? No one ever said love was easy...

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

Warnings: AU Alert! Set after BDM, but Wash &amp; Book are still alive.

____________________________________________________________

 

Landing on Persephone always proved to be an occasion for excitement among the crew since, as soon as the work was done, they were able to stay and play until it was time to be off planet once more. Kaylee had been looking forward this for weeks after Mal'd told them about it; finally she'd get to go with Simon and they'd get to be a normal couple. Or so she had thought. _Best laid plans, girl…best laid plans._ He'd begun pulling away from her lately, sayin' he still needed to work with River even though his sister was now more a part'a the crew than _he_ was. Ain't no work needed to be done with her after the mess they'd faced on Miranda and Mr. Universe's moon…everything were just shiny… with_ River_.

She was startin' to think that now Simon had sampled her, he didn't care no more. And every day that he made more'n more excuses, she believed that a little bit more. Part of the problem – well, most of it, to be truthsome – was that he was just so _gorram_ straight backed…never wanted to joke around or nothin' and wouldn't know how anyway, not even if someone gave him a mother-lovin' _book_ about it. Simon'd been talkin' 'bout some of his contacts here on Persephone, and said she couldn't come along – as if she were some troublesome child. She just couldn't believe he had pulled this sorta thing again, when she had a brand new skirt just beggin' to be worn planetside!

Kaylee slouched her way down to the cargo hold, scuffing her boots against the metal of the deck and peered over the railing – Mal, Zöe, and Wash were loadin' the mule with barterin' goods and River was talkin' to Inara. "You comin' or stayin'?" a deep voice growled directly in her ear. She shrieked in surprise and spun to glare up at Jayne as he grinned back at her, hitchin' up his weapons belt. "Ain't gonna stay here, are ya? Heard you was havin' a spat with Fancy Pants."

She pushed at his chest. "Don't be scarin' me like that! Cap'n wants me to get some passengers."

Jayne sniffed and turned to jog down the stairs. "Just make sure they can pay and ain't smugglin' no kin aboard this time." Kaylee closed her mouth on a retort and sighed, wishin' she was one of the ones leavin' the ship. Setting up her chair at the bottom of the ramp and opening her umbrella, she sat and waited. Pretending not to notice when Simon left without even lookin' over at her or sayin' something.

She managed to get only 2 passengers by the time the others came back with the mule, and put her chair way to help Jayne unload – Wash and Zöe went off arm in arm, Inara left in the shuttle she'd started renting again, and Mal went up to the bridge to start teaching River the consoles. "So, whatcha gonna do while we're here?" Jayne walked past her with the biggest crate. "Go look for some trim?" she teased.

"What if I do? Ain't got nothin' on tap like the rest of y'all," he grumbled. "You gonna be helpin' or just yakkin' that pretty little head'a yours off?"

Did he just tell her he was pretty? "Did you just-"

"Nope. C'mon, girl – I wanna be offa this boat sometime today."

"This all of it? Don't look like it," she said, looking into one of the crates.

Jayne came up behind her and reached around to close it. "Ain't s'posed to be lookin', you're s'posed to be movin'," he chided. "That ain't all of it though… Mal's gonna wait for a better price." They worked in companionable silence and quickly had the cargo stowed. "That's it – you wanna get outta here?"

She was startled. "What, you mean…together?"

"Why not?" he stretched and dropped onto a nearby crate, waiting for her reply.

Kaylee thought about it – Jayne had never offered to hang with no one else on the ship before. He was actually nice to talk to when he wasn't tryin' to be manly and such in front of the others. She smiled at him, her mind made up. "Okay. Lemme just change clothes an' I'll meet ya here in five." _See? You don't hafta be with Simon just for walkin' about. _ She was smiling as she brushed her hair out quickly and changed into clothes that had a few less grease stains – maybe Simon'd see her with Jayne and get so jealous, he'd start mendin' his ways. She was planning on havin' a shiny time no matter what happened, 'cause whatever anyone might say 'bout him, the big merc was an awful lot of fun, and she liked him. Sure, most times he acted like an annoyin' _ge ge_ and many times the ship'd run a lot smoother without him, but he weren't bad. If only he'd start thinkin' afore he started talkin'….

She skipped back down the steps to hear raised voices. "I had to_ meet them_, Jayne," she heard Simon protest. "Not as if a Neanderthal such as yourself would understand the necessity, but-"

"That's another thing; you always gotta be showin' off yer fancy learnin' like any of us gives a monkey's tit," Jayne growled back. "Fact is, your head's so _gorramned _high in the atmo that you forgot you can't pull that _hwai_ on little Kaylee like you been doin'."

Kaylee felt a lump forming in her throat at the thought of Jayne defendin' her and walked to the railing to peer down on the two – Jayne was towering over the smaller man, who looked mighty uncomfortable about it. "I don't know what you're talking about and, I suspect, neither do you," Simon said coolly, trying to edge away. Jayne stopped his retreat by touching one of the larger knives on his belt, and Kaylee decided she'd best step in.

"I'm ready, Jayne," she said brightly, walking down to them while keepin' an eye on Simon.

"You're not leaving with this…this….him. And that's final," the doctor said importantly.

Jayne made a sound in his throat, but Kaylee stopped him by placing a hand on his broad chest. "So now I'm alive to ya? When I ain't waitin' for you and hopin' you'll notice me? Simon…I ain't wantin' to play games no more." She turned away from his astonished face. "I'll see you later. Jayne?"

The big man smirked down at Simon. "We'll_ both_ see you later, _chun zi_," he said as he held out his arm for Kaylee to take. "Where we goin', girl?"

Kaylee looked up at him. "Someplace with rotgut aplenty."

"Shiny."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

After the first five shots, Kaylee had told him all 'bout the source of her troubles with Simon and had started cryin' at least twice. "…an' I always thought it'd be dif'rent," she hiccupped. "'Specially the _sex_."

Jayne tossed back his shot and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "He that bad?"

She hiccupped again and scooted closer to him since he had the bottle. "He's passin' fair, but I keep waitin' for somethin' – I dunno – _special_ and it ain't never happened yet…hey, gimme soma that." She swiped at the bottle of moonshine, but Jayne slid it out of reach.

"Uh-uh…you done had enough, Kaylee-girl."

"No, I ain't – _gimme_," she protested, reachin' for it again and fallin' face down in his lap when she lost her balance. He quickly picked her up, but before she had felt somethin' very interesting. "What was that?"

He signaled for water and made her drink an entire cup. "My knife – whatcha _think_ it was, lamebrain? Drink yer water." The fog surrounding her mind cleared some and she sat beside him in silence as he sipped his drink, glancin' over at her occasionally.

"What ya lookin' at?" she finally demanded.

Jayne shook his head, finished his drink, and tossed some credits on the table before answering. "_Mei mei_, why you gotta stick with him? He don't treat you like you deserve, and you know it. Why _him_?"

Kaylee gaped at him. "Well, I…"

Jayne reached out for her hand suddenly, closing his fingers over hers lightly. "It ain't right, the way he makes you feel like you ain't special enough for his attention. I'd treat you proper, Kaylee – you know I would."

"Whu…?"

"Never mind. You ready to head back? Mal won't want no drunkie tinkerin' with them engines." He stood to leave and laughed at her when she tripped over her stool, almost falling again. "Yeah, you've had plenty to be sure." Kaylee wobbled uncertainly on her feet, and he kept a large hand on her shoulders to steer her. "_Serenity_'s this way, _mei mei_…"

With his help, she made it back to the landin' field but was sober enough to walk on her own. "I shouldn'a drunk so much sake," she groaned, holding her stomach. "I think I'm gonna-" She lurched away and fell to her feet, bringin' up all she had eaten earlier. Jayne knelt beside her and held her hair back from her face as she heaved again…in spite of her misery, she felt grateful that it wasn't Simon here with her. Not that she'd ever get drunk with him, but he sure wouldn't hold her hair and rub her back as she spewed on the side of the street. When she was finally done purging her stomach, she felt so weak that she didn't know if she'd be able to walk.

"How ya feelin'?" the big merc asked her. "We're almost back at the ship, you be okay til we get there?"

Kaylee tried to stand on shaky legs, and he caught her when she almost fell again. "Aw, hell. I'm terrible sorry at the company I'm bein'," she apologized to him.

He looked down at her and grinned. "You ain't a problem. Here, I'll tote ya back." Before she could protest, he had lifted her in his strong arms and started walkin' back to _Serenity._ "Don't be tossin' on my shirt, though, girl – it's new," he warned. Kaylee relaxed against him, soothed by his warmth, and fell asleep cradled to his chest.

 

tbc…  


_____________________________________________________

 


	2. More Than Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayne tries to win Kaylee's affections, but how receptive will she be to his advances when she's still thinking of another? No one ever said love was easy...

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 2**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Rating:** Eventual NC-17  
**Summary:** Jayne tries to win Kaylee's affections, but how receptive will she be to his advances when she's still thinking of another? No one ever said love was easy...   
**Disclaimer:** All characters, locations, etc. property of Joss Whedon et. al; I am making no profit from this.

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

_________________________________________________________

 

Jayne swung Kaylee up into his arms and carried her back to _Serenity_, hopin' she'd had her share of hurlin' and wouldn't start again until both he and his shirt were outta range. Poor girl; she'd never learned to handle her drink proper-like and she was so tiny, she really hadn't had much of a chance 'gainst all that sake she'd downed. She moved suddenly and he stopped, starin' down at her to see if she was ready to spew again – he was more'n ready to toss her down on the grass were that the case, but no…she was _sleepin'_. He studied her face by the lights of the landing field – she was so _gorram_ pretty, like some sort of expensive carving. He was already regretting what he'd said to her, and hoped she'd be too out of it to remember once she woke up. It just plain burned him up that Kaylee was always followin' Doc around, and hardly even gettin' the time of day from him.

He'd carried (as Kaylee put it) a torch for the tiny mechanic ever since he joined the crew, but somethin' had always held him back from telling her how he felt – at first he'd passed it off as a natural reaction to bein' near a fanciable woman. Then he tried pretendin' it were just plain friendliness; a brother 'n' sister type'a deal. But no matter how he tried ignorin' it and goin' for paid trim, he always ended up wishin' it was Kaylee in his arms and cryin' out his name – not that whores ever did that…he didn't give out his name no more after that one had started laughin' at him on account of what his momma had named him.

Jayne had realized that he loved her, and had thought of speakin' up for himself, right 'bout the time Fancy Boy and Moonbrain had come aboard. Then all it took for his chance to disappear was for Kaylee to lay her eyes on Simon…settin' him back to where he'd been before. Disappointment and hurt'd made him lash out at the two of them, but it always made his innards feel all twisted up whenever he saw his _beo-bei_'s face fall in response to one of his comments. Tryin' to get rid of Simon hadn't worked either – man was irritatin' as all get out, a complete chun zi, and took Kaylee further from Jayne every day they was together…but he weren't _all_ bad. Looked after his crazy sister and that was all right, in Jayne's opinion. A man oughtta look to his kin. Every time he'd tried turnin' the pair of them in, he thought of how Kaylee would be sad – and angry with him - when she found out. And then he just couldn't do it.

From the looks of things, maybe he wouldn't even have to do nothin'…well, 'cept getting Kaylee to open her eyes and see that he was the one she should choose, the one who would stick by her…he knew that if he only had a chance, he could make her happy and he'd treat her proper, just as he'd told her. He started walkin' again and met Zöe at the bottom of the ramp.

"What _happened _to her?"

Jayne snorted. "Sake happened."

Wash appeared next. "Sweetie, you forgot your coat…Jayne? Is that Kaylee? I thought she and Simon…"

"Lover's spat," he grunted shortly.

Zöe shook her head and waved him past. "Get her to the infirmary to get sobered up before the Captain sees her like this."

"Well, she already hurled…" Wash leaped back and raised his hands protectively. "Relax; she ain't gonna do it again." Jayne snorted and took her up to face down Simon as he laid the ship's mechanic on one of the tables. "Hey, _Doc_! Got yourself a patient," he roared, knowing full well that the man was fast asleep in the next room.

He grinned as a clanging noise met his ears when Simon flailed, sending his metal plate crashing to the ground. "Whu…? Who…? Jayne? _ Kaylee_…!" In his rush to get to them, the doctor's foot caught on one of the woven mats on the floor and tripped, much to Jayne's amusement. Scrambling up, he tripped again and went flying –heading directly for the sharp tray of instruments that had been left out. Jayne quickly reached out and caught him by the collar, holding him up so that he wouldn't fall.

"You all right?" he asked critically. Maybe Kaylee wasn't the only one been hittin' the bottle tonight.

Simon gasped and rubbed his neck. "No, just…testing out gravity. Thank you," he added, an accusing tone creeping into his voice. "What happened to Kaylee?"

As if it were his fault she was drunk? "I ain't done nothin'," Jayne said defensively. "Ain't my fault the girl's so teeny she can't hold her drink."

"Yes, well, I've got her now – thank you for bringing her back in one piece," the doctor said politely.

"Hell, nearly had twins of her…there was some Reavers over at that bar," Jayne couldn't resist teasing, and laughed when Simon's eyes grew as big as dinner plates. "Said she was too small for a proper meal, though."

"That's…..amusing," Simon said faintly. Jayne turned to leave, suddenly remembering that he wasn't supposed to like the dandy enough to poke fun. Simon surprised him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I know we've had our differences, but…well. You, um, love her…don't you?"

_Why's he have to be so gorram nice about it?_ Jayne favored him with a long look, enough to set Doc to shiftin' nervously. "Me and Kaylee go back some, been in some dust-ups if _that's_ what you mean," he decided to answer, makin' his tone imply that it was what Doc had _better_ be askin'. He sniffed. "I just ain't havin' no city boy breakin' her heart. How'll the engines get fixed with her cryin' all over 'em?"

Jayne made his way back to the common area where he busied himself polishing his knives and tried to make himself forget how good it had felt to have her in his arms.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee woke up suddenly, lurching upright and nearly falling from the exam table. "Jayne? Where…oh, Simon. It's you." He hovered in the doorway, twisting his fingers together nervously. "Wasn't I mad at you or somethin'?"

Simon ducked his head. "I suppose you were." He shuffled closer and offered her a glass of water. "Here, drink this – it'll make you feel better."

"What is it?"

"Just some water – it'll help you balance out all that poison in your system."

She took the glass carefully and sipped. "Jayne made me drink water, too."

Taking the glass back and placing on a side panel, Simon turned back to her and thrust his hands in his pockets. "That was smart of him then, remembering that not everyone is as huge as he is and can't take as much alcohol. Listen, Kaylee…I'm sorry about earlier."

"Which _part_ of earlier?" she asked dryly. "The ignorin' part, or the high and mighty part?"

He looked down at his shoes, blushin' to the tips of his ears in a manner she'd always found adorable. "Both. I guess I was just a bit jealous that you were leaving with Jayne instead of me…it came out wrong," he apologized. "I didn't mean it."

Maybe things weren't so far gone like she'd thought. Kaylee held out her arms for him gladly. "You gonna take me out tomorrow, then?"

Simon came to her quickly. "Absolutely. I'll escort you wherever you choose to go," he smiled, kissing her. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back, not realizing why he tried to draw back. "No..Kaylee, stop for a second," he urged.

"Hmmmm?" she muttered against his lips. "_Kiss_ me, Simon!"

A loud laugh from the doorway startled them, and they turned to see River giggling at them as she went past. "Did you clean your teeth first?" She called over her shoulder.

"Oh," Kaylee gasped, pulling away and holdin' her hand over her mouth. "Sorry." She had looked forward to makin' up with him, but now he looked like he was goin' to be sick as well…so no luck there at all. _Ta ma de_! Well, at least they could get some cuddlin' time in.

His next words shattered _that_ idea, however. "Why don't you go on to bed while I finish up here?"

"But I thought…couldn't I just stay here and help?" she asked, tryin' to salvage the mood.

Simon shook his head. "You know I'd like your help, but it's just too complicated. You know how I am if I can't concentrate on something, and you're sort of a distraction."

"So now I'm a_ distraction_?"

"I didn't mean it like that…"

"Then how _did_ you mean it?" she demanded.

He sighed and sat on the side of the exam table just as she jumped off onto the floor. "Kaylee, I just meant that my mind would be on you when it needs to be on a very complicated job. That's all."

Well, she supposed that she knew that. But to be truthsome, it sounded just like the sort of things he used to say when she was chasin' after him when he first came aboard _Serenity_. Kaylee knew she shouldn't take it so personal, but she was wired how she was wired; she couldn't help it and more'n she could help breathin'. "I guess I'll do some work in the engine room then," she announced.

He certainly looked relieved to be escapin' another fight. "I'll come say goodnight before I get ready for bed," he promised her with a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you're back safely."

Kaylee smiled brightly at him to mask the irritation she felt brewin' inside and made tracks from the room. Maybe Jayne was still around – she remembered him saying somethin' that she should remember for some reason…what had it been?

She made sure to run and clean her teeth before seeking him out; he was in the common area shinin' his knives and pretendin' to ignore River as she danced around the room singing. As she came in, Jayne looked up at her questioningly. "Thought you'd be sexin' by now…what're ya doin' here?" For some reason, River stopped singing abruptly and turned slowly to look at Jayne, who glared back. "You stay outta my head, girl – y'hear?"

River looked back at him calmly. "I've heard it all before," she said mysteriously. "So why should I care now?"

"Well, just…_don't_." Jayne grunted.

"Someone _else_ should care, but I don't."

"Shut it," he warned.

Kaylee sighed and pulled a chair up to the table Jayne was sittin' at. "You got yer cards?"

"Make sure it is your cards and not anything else," River sang when Jayne obediently dug in his pocket for the pack of cards he always carried 'round. "We don't want to see any 'man parts'."

Jayne snorted. "You just _wish_ you could see 'em…you playin' or not, Moonbrain?"

"Ante up, you big lummox, let's play."

This was _much_ more fun than just waitin' for Simon to show up, Kaylee decided as she gathered her cards. She was so involved in the game that she didn't even notice when Simon walked past the common area, heading straight to his quarters instead of the engine room.

 

tbc…

 

_____________________________________________________

 


	3. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_ **More Than Friends - 3** _

Title: More Than Friends  
Rating: NC-17  
Warnings: Just a WD this chapter...poor Jayne.

DISCLAIMER – All characters, locations and situations (well, maybe not the situations) belong to Joss Whedon, ET. Al.

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

______________________________________________________

 

The card game broke up much later, with much laughter and Jayne swearing that River had been cheatin' - girl knew what was in everyone's brain anyhow, so he wasn't entirely clear on why he'd let her play…he'd somehow gotten everyone else's chores and even had to take out Mal's trash. Kaylee was yawnin' fit to kill as she left, but she surprised him by throwin' her arms around him suddenly and kissing him on the cheek. He felt his face start to grow warm before she shot him down with "Thanks fer helpin' me out earlier, _ge ge_." Then she was gone and he was left starin' down at the pile of chores that he'd 'won.'

"The knife twists and pulls," River said solemnly.

"Shut the _gorram_ hell up," he snarled. "I don't need no Crazy tellin' me somethin' she ain't knowin' nothin' about." Slamming his chair back, he rose to his feet and headed for his bunk; there was a small flask of alcohol rolled up in his clothes that should divert his mind from what would probably never be his. When he dug for it, he found that it had somehow come uncapped and nearly all of his clean socks now smelled like moonshine. "_Cao!_" he swore, flinging the bottle across the narrow space where it shattered like a bomb against the door. _Now you have to clean it up if ya don't want cut feet – shiny. Just…shiny. _ Using his fingers to clear up the shards wasn't a great idea either, for he stabbed himself at least six times and then flung himself onto his bed like a sulky boy after he wrapped his hands with the shirt he had tried so hard to keep clean earlier.

Nothin' seemed to be goin' right for him these days.

Punching the pillow angrily with his good hand after struggling out of his clothing, he settled back to sleep…and was startled by the sound of the hatch to his bunk opening. Jayne curled his fingers around the nearby Betty and sat up slowly, aiming up the ladder. "Stop right there," he ordered, cocking the gun threateningly.

"Oh," he heard his visitor gasp in a very familiar voice. "It's just me."

"_Kaylee_? What'n the 'verse are you doin' here?" he sighed, lowering the gun as the tiny mechanic shimmied down the ladder. "And why you wearin' _that_?" he demanded next once he saw that she was dressed in only her combat boots and a long-sleeved shirt that barely covered her… _womanly parts._

She swayed closer to him. "I just…I couldn't sleep," she admitted, "and thought maybe you couldn't either. You couldn't, could ya? Sleep?"

Jayne swallowed hard – she weren't wearin' no bra – before he answered. "Didn't get round to it, I guess…"

"Oh, you're _hurt_! Ya got bandages in here?" she whirled before he could say 'no' and went straight for the box of rags he kept for cleanin' his girls…the box he kept on the floor. _Wo de ma_, she weren't wearin' no panties, either!

"Kaylee, you'd better get yer tail up that ladder and back to the bunk you belong in. Doc finds out you're here, you might be in a whole mess of trouble," he warned. Jayne hoped to Tien that she wouldn't leave…

She turned and placed her hands on her hips, starin' at him like she wanted a fight. "And what if I want to stay here?"

He tried one last time. "But you ain't wearin' nothin'…"

Kaylee smiled in a way that set his pulse to thunderin' in his ears and came over to settle on his lap, sliding her arms around his neck. "I just wanted to see you" she leaned forward to place a kiss on his jaw "and tell you that" another kiss landed closer to his mouth "I've been doing some thinkin' about…this." Tien _almighty_, he wanted her. He groaned her name as one of her hands drifted underneath his blanket to stroke his swollen cock. Jayne thrust his fingers through the long tangle of her hair and pulled her lips down to his, kissing her hungrily as he pressed against her hand. The sound of her ragged breathin' and the feel of her, all soft and smellin' nice – this was all he'd ever thought it would be with her. He tried to ignore the dull pain in his cut fingers, which seemed to be growin' worse, and concentrate on the woman on his lap as she slipped free of his arms and settled between his legs with another one'a them smiles.

His eyes all but rolled back in his head when he felt her lips on his skin – if only his hand would stop hurtin', it'd be perfect – and groaned her name again just he jerked awake and fell to the floor with a crash so that all he had to show for himself was stained sheets, aching fingers, and a bruised back. _**Gorammit**! It was just gettin' good, too…_ Well, he'd known that it was too good to be true the moment his lyin' eyes had seen her come down his ladder. At least it was nearin' time for him to be awake anyhow – Jayne rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his left hand and wiped the right one on a rag he wetted to clean his body off with – not the best of jobs, but it'd do until he could get to the shower room. "That girl owes me more'n twenty sets of new sheets," he grumbled to himself, inspecting his sore fingers. The cuts which had started to close over had opened up again because of her, too; he'd go ask Doc for somethin' as soon as he got some clothes on. The thought that he might be able to scare Simon awake again mightily appealed to him and he dressed hurriedly, grinning with anticipation of the other man's annoyance.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Simon was fast asleep and dreaming of a successful operation that would cement his fame in the Centralized Worlds. "You've done it, Dr. Tam," the nurse beamed at him. "The first successful head transplant in history!" The entire operating team clamored for a speech, and he raised his hands for silence.

"I'd like to thank each and every one of you for-"

Unfortunately for those who looked like they really wanted to hear his speech, Jayne's bellow of "DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOC!" startled him into wakefulness and made him fall out of the bed in surprise. Simon scrambled into his clothes and ran to the infirmary, stubbing his toe painfully on a pile of books River had stacked in front of his door. Limping the rest of the way and expecting to find a dismembered body on the examination table, he came to an abrupt half when he found himself facing a huge mercenary with papercuts on his fingers. "Think you could take care'a these?" Jayne asked, extending his hand and looking inordinately pleased with himself.

"You got me up – and out of a very pleasant dream – for _that_? You've got to be kidding me," Simon groaned.

Jayne grinned. "You fall out of bed?"

"Yes," he replied sourly. Every time he thought Jayne could be no more aggravating, the man surpassed himself with something like this.

"There _is_ justice in the 'verse after all, then…but we was talkin' about you fixin' me up?"

The big man waggled his fingers at Simon, who sighed and grabbed his wrist to look. "Let me hazard a guess as to how this happened – flipping the pages of a girlie magazine too quickly? Never mind…just hold still while I seal the cuts." He kept one hand on the inside of Jayne's wrist while he stretched out his other hand to open a small drawer and withdraw the tiny tube of wound sealant.

Footsteps sounded outside the door and he heard Kaylee's voice ring out in greeting. "Mornin,' Simon – hey there, Jayne." Simon turned as she came in, remembering with sudden clarity what he had promised her that he would do the previous night…and didn't. "Oh, you're _hurt_!" she gasped as she came closer, and Jayne's pulse began to speed under Simon's fingers – he thought the huge merc might well have heart failure when next she said, "Ya got bandages in here or what?"

"Jayne? Are you feeling okay?" he asked, concerned. Simon sincerely hoped that he wasn't having a heart attack – from the size of the man, he'd most likely have to cut a main power line in the ship to restart Jayne's heart. The other man looked at him, then down at where he was touching his pulse point.

"I'm fine," he said quickly, pulling his hand away. "Just seal them cuts like I asked and don't ask so many _gorram_ questions."  
So_ that_ was what was going on. Simon tried not to smile at the thought of Jayne losing his heart to a woman not even half his size and replayed the previous night's conversation. Yes, he was in love with her – and had been for some time, if he thought about it; he had been ready to kill the spy who had accidentally shot Kaylee when he and River had first come onboard, and later had taken the utmost care in carrying her to the engine room when they had needed to escape from the Reavers. Simon sealed the cuts on the big man's fingers and sent him on his scowling way, then dealt with the other scowling individual in his life who gave him a dressing down for forgetting her before she whirled to leave. He stopped his hand from reaching out and stopping her, and simply watched as she stalked off to the engine room to work off her temper.

Setting the room to rights only took a few seconds and checking in on River only showed that she was happily writing down nonsense phrases in one of the small journals that Shepherd Book had gifted her with. "What are you up to, _mei mei_?" he asked affectionately.

"I'm writing a novel," she informed him seriously. "It's about a woman who loves someone but is loved by another. Someone will be getting disemboweled, I'm afraid. But that's not until later in the story."

He grinned, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "Is there a happy ending?"

River cocked her head to the side. "I'm not sure yet."

"Neither am I."

"I thought you liked Kaylee," she said, abandoning the book to stare at him.

Simon sat down beside her and sighed, stretching out his legs atop the small table. "I did – I mean, I _do_…it's complicated. We're just very different people and may just be a little _too_ different; I'm used to certain things and so is she. What do you think about all this?" he teased, trying to shift the conversation onto a lighter topic.

River looked at him, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Bluster and jokes come out, but the big one is very sad inside. Chances are there and gone, faster than wind blowing through fingers that can't close to catch it."

"We're talking about a man who once tried to trade his gun for a wife," he reminded his sister dryly – but she had gone back to writing her 'novel' and was ignoring him, so he sat back to watch her silently and think about this…unique…situation. In the beginning, he'd really had no time to seriously think about romancing Kaylee since he was always so nervous about getting caught by the Alliance – there'd been some flirting… more on her side, really, but he had meant what he had told her after the events at Miranda.   
Their time together had been wonderful and he would always remember it, but there was no way around the fact that they were simply drifting apart because of their differences. Some people overcame that sort of thing, that was true; but he found himself more and more regarding Kaylee as a friend rather than a lover. Quite frankly, it made him a bit uncomfortable these days to even think about making love with her so he avoided her in the hope that the feeling would pass – it wasn't as if there were anyone else there ready to pass the time in such a manner with him; a man like Jayne might visit whorehouses without a second thought, but there were all manner of diseases and germs in those places. He wouldn't visit one even if there were a gun to his head.

Perhaps he would just have to have a talk with Kaylee and explain his feelings; she would be upset, but he was sure she would understand as soon as she calmed down and thought about it. Simon wasn't at all thrilled at the prospect of stepping aside for Jayne Cobb, of all people - and that was assuming that Jayne actually qualified as a _person_ – but there was no denying that the foul mannered man would be a better match for the lively mechanic…if he wasn't spaced by the captain once Mal got wind of it.

"A happy ending," River said suddenly, looking up from the journal to smile at him.

Well, he supposed that settled it. Standing slowly and combing his hair with his fingers nervously, he began to walk towards the engine room. "Kaylee? Can I talk to you for a second…?"

tbc…

________________________________________________________________

 


	4. More than Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one, folks...I couldn't get it started at first, then I just couldn't stop! :]

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_ **More Than Friends - 4** _

Author: [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
Title: More than Friends  
Rating: Eventual NC-17  
Notes: This is a long one, folks...I couldn't get it started at first, then I just couldn't stop! :]  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

_______________________________________________________

 

Mal was handing Zöe a schematic of the warehouse they'd been hired to empty – he preferred to think of it as liberating the contents; made it not seem so bad – when a bloodcurdling screech from the direction of the engine room made him lose his grip on it. It lay forgotten as they raced up the stairs of the cargo hold, and when they rounded the corner, Mal stopped short in surprise at the sound of Kaylee yelling at Simon…Zöe plowed into him and nearly knocked him over. "What's going on here?" he asked, bewildered as Simon ducked a volley of tools.

"You wanna know what's goin' on? You wanna _know_?" Kaylee shrieked, brandishing her welding torch at him threateningly.

Was this Kaylee, sweet little Kaylee? Mal blinked in confusion and looked to an equally startled Zöe. "Well, first I'd mightily appreciate not havin' that in my face," he answered. "If you two are havin' a lover's spat, then-'

"It is _not_," she seethed, "a _lover's_ spat. If it were, at least that'd mean I'd been dealt with in the last month." Pointing the torch at Simon, who was looking like he'd be glad to see an Alliance cruiser right about now, she continued. "This…this…_this_ just broke up with me!"

"Hunh." He scratched his head. "Doc? Is she sayin' true? Put down that torch, _mei mei_, and let the man speak his piece."

The young doctor swallowed nervously, eyeing the irate mechanic. "It – it was the for the best, we-"

"For the _best_?" Kaylee glared murderously.

"Zöe?" Mal asked.

His second immediately stepped in to hold Kaylee back as she looked like she was about to lunge forward. "On it, sir." Simon sidled behind Mal and peered around at his ex.

"Simon, I imagine you'd best see to your sister and whatnot…I expect Kaylee here will need some time to cool off," Mal suggested. Simon made his getaway and as Zöe relaxed her guard on Kaylee, the younger woman darted around her in hot pursuit.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Jayne watched interestedly as Simon shot through the kitchen, lookin' like had a pack of Reavers hot on his tail; moments later, a wrench hurtled through the air and struck him 'twixt his shoulder blades. Another tool – looked like a spanner – hit him on the leg. Kaylee flew into the room as Jayne reached for another of the vegetables Shepherd sent, and Simon made his limpin'escape. He decided that watchin' this was more fun than makin' dinner, so he put down the knife and leaned back against the counter.

"Where's Simon – you seen him?" she demanded angrily.

Jayne pointed to the wrench that was lyin' on the floor. "You already clocked him a good one – he done somethin' bad to you?"

"He broke up with me," she snarled back. "Can I borrow that knife for a minute?" Kaylee pointed to the butcher knife he had been using.

"Wash it off 'afore you bring it back," he said, tryin' not to smile. Maybe, just _maybe_, his chance had finally come. "Maybe you could help me 'stead of makin' Doc fillets – Ma always used to say that cookin' was real good for workin' off a temper," he said, sliding the cutting board closer to her.

After frownin' up at him for a long while, Kaylee ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Well, I-"

He interrupted quickly. "On that last job, we got real flour and yeast – if you help me with that" he pointed at the cans of protein "I could make bread, I know how," he tempted.

That decided her. "Okay," she said, a smile beginnin' to replace the frown. When Mal ran in a few seconds later, he found Kaylee happily helpin' him

"You given up murderin' our doctor?" the captain asked curiously.

Kaylee just looked up from where she was finishing the soup. "Naw. Jayne sidetracked me with his promise of real bread, is all – I'll throw Simon out the airlock later." Mal blinked and left as Jayne reached around her for a rag.

"You should space him first – that way we get more food," he suggested.

She slapped his chest playfully. "That's just plain_ mean_, Jayne Cobb."

He grinned down at her and tapped his finger on the end of her nose, leavin' a smear of flour there that he felt like leanin' in to kiss off. "You said once that everything I think was mean, so I dunno why you should be surprised." _Ai ya_, but he wanted to kiss her! He knew that he would have to go slower than slow with her – even with Doc outta the way, if he moved too fast now he could ruin his chances forever. First she needed some time away from bein' with Simon, then he needed to show her that he could be a lot more than a friend to her. Somehow, she'd need to get over thinkin' he was her _ge ge_…but how could he possibly make that happen?

This whole love thing was nothin' but a mess of trouble.

Kaylee was lookin' up at him funny, and he realized that he'd been starin' at her. "Jayne – you okay?"

"Yeah, sure." And he was, 'cause he had just figured out exactly who he could ask about all this. "Hey, thanks fer helpin' and all," he said with a smile; she sure was pretty with her hair messed like that.

She grinned back at him, and surprised him by standin' on her toes to kiss him on his cheek. "I reckon I was wrong about ya – you can be mighty sweet sometimes."

Jayne stopped his hand from reaching up to touch his face where her lips had been, knowin' he was probably turnin' red. "Aw, don't tell no one," he said gruffly, turning away slightly so she wouldn't see the effect of that innocent kiss in his eyes. They worked together in silence until she decided to torment him further by leanin' on his arm and ask when the bread would be ready. "It'll be ready when it's ready," he warned her. "Don't be breathin' all over it, or it ain't gonna rise proper." He sighed in relief when she knuckled him in the ribs and put up her things, announcing that she was gonna check on the engine one last time.

He cleaned up the kitchen quickly and covered the bread – he came back to put it on top of a cabinet so Moonbrain couldn't get at it – and walked as fast as he could to the bridge before he lost his nerve. Sure 'nuff, Wash was sittin' at the controls playin' with them animals. Jayne dropped into the co-pilot's seat and watched the other man pretend the smaller toy was herding the bigger one into an airlock, before he cleared his throat. "Uh, Wash?"

"Hang on, we've almost spaced the Tyrannosaurus so that the earth can be free of, um, tyranny," Wash said, walking the smaller toy across the console. Sometimes, Jayne had no idea why Mal let that man near the controls. When "they" had finally won – or whatever they were tryin' to do – Wash looked up at him. "What's going on…this isn't about Zöe getting naked again, is it? Because you can forget about it."

Jayne shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "No, it ain't. Actually, uh, I wanted to ask you somethin'…you gotta promise not to tell no one 'bout it, though."

The other man turned towards him curiously, leaning forward as he, too, glanced at the doorway. "So, ask."

How in the nine hells was he supposed to do this? He cleared his throat again nervously, and gave it a shot. "Supposin' – just _supposin'_ – there was someone. A woman. Well, supposin' there was a woman and I…I…." He scrubbed a hand through his hair and tried again, starin' down at his boots. "She don't think of me as the kind who – I mean…"

"You? And a woman? How much did she cost?"

Jayne snarled angrily and pushed to his feet – he shoulda known he'd be treated like this. "Forget about it."

Wash put out a restraining hand quickly. "No, wait…sit back down. It's kind of a habit by now, sorry. So, the woman in question isn't a whore?"

"_No_, she ain't. And I-"

" _Tien_ almighty," Wash gasped suddenly. "You, Jayne Cobb, are…in love? Have you been drinking?" he asked suspiciously. Jayne moved to stand once more, and was again stopped. "I'm sorry, let's try this again: so, you're in love. Why are you telling me this astonishing news, again…?"

Jayne sighed. "Well, you got Zöe, ain't ya? You musta done _something_' to get her. I just wanna know how you did it."

"How I 'got' Zöe."

"Yeah."

"You're not in _love_ with Zöe, are you?"

"I ain't stupid, 'course not."

Wash looked at him. "I'll just let that one slide right on by. Now, we've got it clear that you're in love, and it's with a woman who is _not_ my darling wife. And not a whore. Is it Inara?"

"_No_. Look, it don't _matter_ who she is!" Jayne protested. "Just tell me how you got Zöe, gorrammit! I mean, please," he added as an afterthought. Some folk always wanted to hear that word, for some reason.

Serenity's pilot rubbed his chin and looked at him. "If it's not Inara, then….oh, I've got it! It must be Saffron; I remember how you wanted to trade her for Vera. No? Then it _has_ to be – oh, okay. The advice part. Tell you the truth, she was the one who got _me_ but she always said how much she admired my flying." He sat back and stretched. "So all you have to do is hope your lady love is impressed by your, um, ability to blow things up and be angry about everything," he concluded.

Jayne leaned forward. "So I gotta impress her somehow, is that what you're sayin'?"

"Pretty much, yes. Does she like wanton destruction?"

"Whu...?"

"Never mind. You should find something that she likes – clothing, jewelry, food…and you could talk about it with her."

"What if I just got her somethin'? Would that work at all?"

Wash turned down the dial of the nearby Cortex screen before answering slowly. "It's not River, is it…?"

"_Gorrammit_, Wash! NO!"

"You can't blame a fellow for being curious, Jayne. After all, the kind of non-whorish woman who would attract your notice isn't one I can easily picture. How long have you been in love with this woman?"

Jayne scratched his head. "Ever since I seen her, I reckon."

"We've only been here on Persephone for a day and a half," Wash protested. Jayne glared at him, and the pilot stopped snickerin' to start to answer his question. "So it's been a while, then."

Couldn't do no harm in tellin' him. "Yeah, a couple years or so, I guess. I ain't never really bought her nothin', but I seen plenty of what she likes so it shouldn't be hard to find something for her. Thing is, she thinks I'm like a brother to her and always is chasin' after those who won't treat her good."

For a minute, he thought he'd said too much when Wash's eyes widened and the man rocked back in his seat, raising a finger to point at him. "I know who it is, now! That woman back in Canton, what was her name…?"

"No, that ain't her neither. Told you, it don't matter who she is. Can you help me any or not? You can't be tellin' everyone, though."

Wash heaved a long sigh and gave up trying to get Jayne to tell him Kaylee's identity. "Okay, here's some things you can try…" They spent the next several minutes discussing ways to get a woman's attention – he usually never had no problems with _that_, he thought ruefully – until Zöe walked in.

"What's going on?" she asked, taking up station behind her husband and puttin' her hands on Wash's shoulders.

"We were just talking about dinner tonight, lambie toes," Wash lied just as Jayne said, "Nothin'."

She narrowed her eyes and looked at both of them. "If you say so."

Jayne rose to his feet quickly. "I gotta check on that bread, make sure Crazy didn't mess with it." He left the bridge as fast as he could, and nearly walked right into Kaylee. "Where you goin'?" he asked as soon as he stepped back to avoid knocking her over. She looked all sad for some reason.

Kaylee gave a little sigh and brushed at her eyes with her sleeve. "Oh, I just came from sayin' sorry to Simon for tryin' to kill him earlier. I was just so surprised and angry, I…I just didn't think too much 'bout what I was doin'. Thought if I was nicer, maybe he'd say he didn't mean it when he said we shouldn't see each other no more."

Jayne found himself holding his breath. "And…what'd Doc say 'bout that?" He tried to act like he didn't care; he had lost out to other men so often with her that he shouldn't be surprised or sorry about it by now.

"He said that he meant it," she whispered, getting' all sniffly. "It's really over, Jayne." Then she flung herself at him and started cryin' all over his shirt.

Why was it that she never wanted somethin' like this when she _weren'_t upset or afraid she was gonna get killed? He asked himself as he put his arms around her awkwardly. Kaylee burrowed closer and cried louder, her hands pullin' at the back of his shirt like she couldn't help it none. Maybe it was the sort of thing women did whenever they got all emotional at people – he had no idea. Whenever a woman looked like she was about to cry, he was the first to escape to a safe distance where he didn't have to deal with it. What were you s'posed to _do_ about it, say that everything was shiny even thought it weren't at all? He thought about it, then remembered somethin' his Ma had told him about babies when they were cryin' – well, she most like wouldn't want him to bounce her around none, so he moved his hand experimentally down her back.

Kaylee moved her head and seemed to relax a little, so he tried it again and got the same result. Touchin' her hair seemed to be somethin' she liked too, so he smoothed his palm over the top of her head and ran his fingers down through her loose hair until she stopped cryin' and just stood there, lettin' him touch her. It felt surprisingly good, Jayne thought, to have her this close and wantin' comfort from him. "Feelin' better?" he finally asked when her grip on his shirt loosened slightly.

"Yeah." She let go of him and stepped back as he released her reluctantly. "Thanks for lettin' me cry all over you – I'm awful sorry about that. I just seem to be all emotional at you lately," she said, echoing his earlier thought. Kaylee looked up at him, tryin' for a smile. "You been real sweet to me. Promise you won't tell Simon I cried?"

Jayne brushed a tear from her cheek gently with his thumb. "You can count on me," he said, meaning it and willing her to see the different meanings of those words. "I won't let ya down." _Ever_.

She smiled, for real this time, and took one of his hands in both of hers to squeeze it before lettin' go and walkin' towards her bunk. "See ya at dinner tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it, girl – I hear tell there's gonna be bread," he called to her, earnin' a tiny giggle. When he turned around, he was face to face with Wash who had a mighty peculiar look on his face.

"It's _Kaylee_, isn't it?"

_Go se_.  


________________________________________________

 

tbc..

 


	5. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_ **More Than Friends - 5** _

Title: More Than Friends  
Rating: Eventual NC-17, this chapter = G  
Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee, some Mal/Inara  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any $$

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

_________________________________________________

 

Kaylee spent the rest of the day in her bunk, straightening her things over and over so she wouldn't have to face Simon or anyone else…she was still a bit embarrassed at the way she had acted, but felt a little better after Jayne had let her cry all over him. He was always lookin' after her, Jayne was. He could be real mean sometimes, that were nothin' but a fact…but lately she'd been noticin' that something about him was different and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was that she'd finally found out the truth of him, that he was nothin' but a big softie; he sure got along loads better with the captain after Miranda – hell, he got along better with everyone, includin' Simon… She pressed her lips together at the pain that stray thought caused and moved aside the empty plate that had held her lunch which River had brought down to her earlier.

After fiddlin' with her Cortex screen for unnecessary repairs, she checked the chrono just as a boom resounded through the bunk along with Jayne's bellow of "Kaylee! Food!"

"Quit kickin' my door," she yelled back as she started climbin' up the ladder. Kaylee caught up with the big merc as they got to the kitchen, and helped him set the table. "Is the bread ready?" she asked excitedly, breathing in deep. "It sure smells nice."

Jayne motioned over to the row of cabinets. "Over there; had to shoo Moonbrain away from it 'least five times." As they were working the other crew members were filing in and as Simon ducked into the dining area, Kaylee felt the blood drain from her face. "Anyways, I made more'n one so we can…" he trailed off to follow her gaze and rested his fingers on her arm lightly. "You gonna be okay, girl?" he asked softly.

She covered his big hand with her smaller one. " I Think so. Hope so, anyhow. Sit with me?"

"A'course – couldn't pass up an opportunity ta sit beside the purtiest lady on Persephone, now could I?" he teased. "Grab that there, wouldja? I ain't got but two hands," Jayne continued as he picked up the food to transfer it to the table.

"Yessir, Cap'n Cobb," she joked with a salute.

"I'm likin' the sound a'_that_..."

The captain arrived to sit at the table suddenly, sniffin' the air. "Over my dead body, Jayne – is that_ bread_ I'm smellin'?"

"Hey, whatever it takes," Jayne shot back, ignoring the question and pullin' out a chair for Kaylee, hurlin' himself down into his. "Don't eat all that," he warned Zöe when the other woman reached for the coveted bread. Kaylee noticed Wash eyeing Jayne and grinnin' fit to kill…he probably had been teasin' the big guy over somethin' again, so she paid him no mind and instead watched Mal watchin' Inara. Once or twice during the meal, she reached for dishes at the same time Simon did and they both pulled away quickly until Jayne settled the silent dispute by always givin' whatever it was to her and glarin' at Simon. Wash's smile just grew even larger for some reason whenever this happened; she thought she'd have to ask him later what was so funny. Simon excused himself from the table early, Jayne helpin' him on his way with a cheerful, "You're an idiot, Doc."

"So says the pot to the kettle," Wash snorted into his soup.

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Jayne demanded, and the next few minutes were filled with entertainin' insults about parentage, flying ability, and gun size until Mal made 'em knock it off.

Kaylee watched the banter between the rest of the crew, and felt herself relax enough to join in an animated conversation over whether or not Zöe really needed a bikini or not – Wash was all for it until Jayne said that he would forfeit his entire cut if she would wear it on the next job, and she took control of the situation. "That's enough outta you, mister," she scolded. "Let's get this cleaned up and never you mind _what_ Zöe might or might not be wearin'." Jayne grumbled a bit, but obeyed.

"Um, _mei mei_?" Mal asked warily, eyein' Jayne as the bigger man went into the kitchen.

She stifled a yawn and began wiping the table down with a rag. "Yeah, Cap'n?" she asked absently. "Oh, would you hand me that…? Thanks, 'Nara."

"How… how did you do that, just now?"

"What? I ain't done nothin'. Jayne, we got another plate over here," she called.

"So? Clean it your own gorramned self – I mean, toss it on over," he joked back, snatchin' the plate from the air when she took him at his word and flung it across the counter to him.

"One of these days, Jayne Cobb," Kaylee threatened playfully, shakin' her fist at him and smiling when he slapped a hand to his chest and pretended to faint in terror. She turned back to the captain in time to see Inara drawing back from him with a slight smile on her face – ever since all that Reaver business, those two had finally stopped dancin' around the issue and gave into the feelings that everyone else had already known they had for each other. It sure was good to see 'em so happy…Kaylee wished that _she_ had someone who loved her like Mal loved Inara. "What were you sayin' again, Cap'n?" she asked, blushin' a little when Inara smiled at her knowingly.

But Mal had ceased to care about whatever it was that he'd been sayin' in the first place. "Nothing," he said, starin' at the Companion by his side. The couple slipped away from the table after a few more minutes of makin' eyes at each other, and Kaylee sighed after them enviously as she finished helping clean up. Jayne sure was lookin' at her funny, she thought as she left for her bunk.

They picked up a few passengers as could pay, along with a job from Badger involvin' "abandoned" cargo that needed a home, and left Persephone behind. Each day that passed made it easier for Kaylee to accept the end of her relationship with Simon, and realize that maybe they _weren't _really meant to be – it still hurt like hell, but she felt grateful for the support of her crewmates. When she was feelin' down, one of them would always be there for her if she needed cheerin' or just someone to talk at…mostly it was Jayne keepin' her company, and they spent more time together than ever before just talkin' about things.

It got to the point where they were spendin' most of the day with each other – or maybe they had always been that way? She couldn't rightly recall; it was just that whenever she looked around, Jayne was there doin' something – cleanin' his girls or weldin', whatever was needed. In her saddest moments he was there to share a joke or even give her a hug. He really did give the best hugs. Best of all, he never made her feel like she weren't worth his time when she just wanted to talk; she'd been watchin' the care he took with his weapons and thought about how she'd like to learn how to handle herself in a fight.   
That business with Jubal Early had spooked her good, and when she finally got up enough gumption to ask Jayne about it, she'd been afraid that the big merc would laugh in her face. Instead, he just looked at her calm-like as he set down Vera and picked up the smallest gun to begin teachin' her how to use it. A'course they couldn't _really_ practice unless she wanted to risk a hole in Serenity's hull, but he promised to give her a chance to shoot up everything in sight soon as they got planetside. Well, he had actually grinned and offered to take her down to the infirmary to turn her loose on "whatever Fancy Pants Doctor might happen to be there," but she had just thanked him for the mightily generous thought and asked for lessons in hand-to-hand as soon as the job was done.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Inara Serra was many things, but she certainly wasn't blind. She watched Kaylee inching closer and closer to an understanding of what Jayne offered, the love that lit up his eyes when the ship's mechanic was anywhere near and pulled him to her side whenever she unknowingly beckoned him with her words. Inara had known of the mercenary's feelings for her friend before even he had been aware of them, and had watched the big man's stumbling realization as well as his subsequent heartache when Kaylee's infatuation with Simon Tam took her farther away from him. While Jayne Cobb was certainly one of the most…_interesting_ specimens of manhood she'd ever encountered, she had to admire him for his unfailing devotion to Kaylee and the quiet courage he showed, risking rejection with every mode he made and every word he uttered. Maybe that was why he'd been watching his mouth lately, she thought to herself with a wicked grin that she would never allow anyone else to see.

Well, perhaps Mal would get to see it. One day. She smiled over at the man currently snoring contentedly by her side and poked him in the ribs. "Mal, you're snoring again. Roll on your side," she advised gently.

Mal lurched upright, startled out of sleep. "Whu..? Who…?"

"You were snoring," she repeated gently, smiling at the sight of her lover with his hair wildly sticking out in all directions.

"Were not," he protested, falling back on his elbows.

"Would you like to bet on that, Captain Reynolds? I took a capture."

Serenity's captain brought up a hand to his mouth worriedly. "Was there drool?"

Inara arched an eyebrow at him. "There was, but I might forgive you if you…" She crooked her finger at him and waited for him to get the message.

He was on her side of the bed almost immediately – never let it be said that Malcolm Reynolds was slow on the uptake. "I'm only agreein' if you give me that capture," he negotiated before lowering his lips to hers.

"We'll see how well you do," was all she said before he began to kiss her in a way that left no need for words at all.

Much later she talked with Kaylee and River as Mal, Zöe and Jayne left in the other shuttle for their job – they had all agreed that the derelict they were looting looked too much like that ill-fated job where they had found the remains of the Newhall settlement, so everyone on board, with the exception of their four passengers, was on edge. Wash was in the pilot's chair like always, the fingers of one hand fluttering nervously near the radio. Simon ducked through the door suddenly, but almost withdrew when he saw that Kaylee was there. "Oh – River. There you are." River rolled her eyes and looked at the console, shaking her head. "Well, I'd better go make sure the infirmary is ready," he said awkwardly.

Kaylee turned around in a flash. "How can you be so sure that something's gonna go wrong?" she demanded.

The young doctor blinked under this onslaught, averting his eyes from River's complimentary glare. "I – I just mean that…"

"I know what you mean, Simon. I'm sorry…it's just that this waitin' is really gettin' to me," Kaylee apologized. "When I think of the captain over there, it just really looks like that last time with the Reavers and all." She drew in a deep breath as if steeling herself for something. "Look, can we go someplace and talk? I got somethin' needs sayin'," she said, a flush creeping into her cheeks.

"Um – sure, but don't you want to wait for...?"

"Oh, the Cap'n? He'll be okay til we get back."

"No," Simon said cautiously, "I was talking about Jayne."

Inara saw a strange look pass over Kaylee's face as she took that in. "Jayne? What does he have to do with anyth-" The mechanic's blush began to deepen and she looked down at her boots. "Oh."

"I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Nothin' to be embarrassed over, we're just friends is all," Kaylee said hastily. "I wanted to talk about somethin' else though, so can we…?"

Simon nodded and they left the bridge, leaving Inara alone with Wash and River. "So she's finally noticed?" Wash asked, glancing after them. River laughed and curled up in the co-pilot's seat, looking back at Inara.

"I suspect so," Inara replied amiably, her eyes fixed on the screen ahead of her.

Wash turned his seat to face her curiously. "How long have you known about Jayne…you know, actually having human feelings? I'm still blown away about it, myself."

She smiled at his choice of words. "I have the feeling that Jayne has many more surprises in store for us."

 

tbc…

__________________________________


	6. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_ **More Than Friends - 6** _

Title: More Than Friends  
Author: [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any $$

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

___________________________________________________

 

Simon walked back to the infirmary with Kaylee trailing behind him – he wondered what she wanted to say to him, if she weren't too embarrassed at his previous mention of Jayne to even speak to him now. Knowing Kaylee, it was a wonder that _anything_ embarrassed her…most likely it wouldn't last long, in any case. As he had thought, she began to speak before they were even inside the door. "So, Simon…?"

"Yes?" he asked politely, walking over to one of the counters to pull out cotton swabs and disinfectant – one could always count on Jayne to come up with some kind of injury; he never knew how that man could have survived infancy with the sorts of things happening to him on a daily basis. If he wasn't stepping on rusty nails – which had happened at least five times during the last six months – he came to Simon with sliced fingers, burns, and once he had even had a bullet wound perilously close to a delicate area. Of course, Simon was the only one who knew about it since Jayne had bribed him with cash as well as the promise of bodily harm if he ever told anyone.

He turned to see Kaylee biting her lip and regarding him carefully. "I was just, um, thinkin' on what you said – you know – and how we're always skitterin' 'round each other nowadays. Truth to tell, I'm kinda tired of it and I'm thinkin' that you might be too." Simon schooled his expression to not display any of the relief he felt rising up within him at his announcement. Kaylee continued, looking at the scuffed toes of her combat boots. "It ain't no lie that I was mighty upset 'bout it… but I just don't got the heart to stay mad at no one, not really. I guess we weren't really meant to be or somethin' like that, but I was wonderin' if we, um, could be friends, maybe?"

What could he possibly say to that? A statement outlining his immense relief would surely be taken amiss. "I actually thought you might stay angry forever," he ventured finally. "I didn't intend to hurt you, I just thought it was for the best that we-" A thunderous expression was forming on her face, so he cut himself off sharply and stuck his hand out. "Friends," he said hastily. "Friends are nice." Where had that 'for the best' speech come from? _Nice one, Simon._

She accepted his hand and shook it briskly. "Well, then. I gotta go check on…somethin'." Kaylee left, taking the steps three at a time.

Simon sighed and pushed a hand through his hair as River glided past the door with a mocking, "'Friends are nice.'"

"You're such a brat."

"Better to be a brat than a boob," she chortled, walking past the door again in the other direction.

Simon glared at his little sister. "River. Did you come all the way down here just to make fun of me, or did you actually need something important?"

"I couldn't help it," she announced, placing her hands on her temples. "The brain waves of stupidity were just radia-" River ended in a laughing shriek as Simon snatched up the neck pillow from the exam table and hurled it at her. "First do no harm," she grinned as she turned on her heel and began to climb the stairs._ Little sisters. _

Simon returned to laying out his medical equipment, the first true smile in weeks beginning to form on his lips as he set out the suture kits caused by the realization that his _mei mei_ was acting like a normal young girl. An annoying one to be sure, but still - normal. At last.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Over in the other ship, the job was progressing without a hitch. _Well, so far_, Jayne thought sourly. He hadn't in particular been wantin' to come over for starters…but he hadn't 'xactly been asked. He kept an eye out for any signs of Reavers, and his trigger finger was itchin' like the devil to shoot somethin' – sooner they were off this ruttin' dump, the better he'd feel. Lookin' all over for dead bodies and findin' none was a plus in his book, so he got on with his job and between the three of 'em they collected the goods and were away on back to Serenity inside of two hours. "Let's get outta here – place gives me the gorram willies," Jayne complained when Mal started eyein' the hull plating all covetous-like. "I ain't takin' that off there no how…let's _go_."

Zoë tapped the captain's arm with the muzzle of her gun. "Hate to say this but the man's right, sir. I say we get back and get as much black between us and this heap as we can. Jayne?" she motioned to the cargo and Jayne sighed in relief, stooping to pick it up and haul it back to the ship while Mal protested a mite weakly about Zoë overrulin' him.

Back on Serenity they piled the goods in the airlock and disengaged from the derelict as fast as they could, pullin' off their helmets as soon as the inner door cycled open. "Get that stowed," Mal ordered, struttin' off like bein' a pain in the _pi gu_ would make up for the ding in his gorram pride.

"Might wanna get unsuited first," Jayne coughed, grinnin' when the other man stopped and whirled to stalk back to take his suit off.

"These suits need some more sealant, Kaylee," he called. "I had to try it in normal gravity to be sure, but I'm fair certain there's a leak."

Jayne looked around as Kaylee popped through the door and skipped down the stairs cheerfully. Girl'd be cheerful even if a Reaver slid down her bunk ladder and asked to borrow a gorram blanket, he thought with a smile as he slid his own suit down and stepped out of it. When he straightened, she gave him that look that always made him feel like somethin' was squeezin' his heart and he couldn't breathe proper. "I'm fair certain you just forgot to take off your suit 'til Jayne reminded ya, Cap'n… don't worry, we won't hold it against you none," she said sweetly.

He felt the familiar jealousy well up in him as she leaned over and pecked Mal on the cheek. She didn't mean nothin' by it, was jus' bein' friendly…but it always made him see red that it was always someone _else_. "When's it ever gonna be my turn?" he asked, half-joking.

Nothin' prepared him for suddenly havin' an armful of Kaylee and her pressin' a kiss on one side of his face, then the other side. "Poor Jayne, never gettin' kissed on by _no one_," she teased, her hands lingerin' on his shoulders.

"Well, hey – didn't get no sexin' planetside so what d'ya expect?" he answered, tryin' to hide his pleasure at havin' her so close. Mal shook his head and left with Zoë to the bridge as Kaylee stepped back and smiled up at him. He coulda sworn her lips were real close to his when she was meant to be kissin' his cheek, but who was he to complain? Hell, he wanted to pick her back up and kiss her senseless afore carryin' her to his bunk and…

River interrupted some mightily pleasin' thoughts by stompin' down the stairs in those big boots of hers and runnin' up to them. _Zhen mei naixing de Fozu!_ "So, now the job's done we can practice fightin'?" Kaylee was askin', those big brown eyes fixed on him.

"I want to practice too," River informed him.

"Like hell – whyn't you just go 'practice' killin' someone else? I remember what happens when you go all wooly near me," he said incredulously, movin' his hand protectively over his crotch. Gorram girl was always on the lookout to smash up his goods for some reason or 'nother – he figured it was past time to send her off to a whorehouse for some schoolin' if she was so ruttin' interested in grabbin' people in their particulars. He ran his eyes over her appraisingly – naw, too scrawny to get some fer free; she'd have to pay for sure. River's eyes widened as this train of thought drifted through his mind, then narrowed dangerously. _Uh-oh, forgot she snooped like that…_ She glared at him and he started to back up as she darted past him to snatch up a can of something.

Kaylee blinked and looked back and forth between them. "What's goin' on? River…?"

River charged him suddenly and he brought up his hands to push her away when she slipped under his guard, lifted his shirt, and sprayed somethin' from the can onto his chest before pullin' his shirt back down and slappin' her hand against it. "Let that be a lesson to you, uncouth primate," she said before walking calmly over to the stairs and climbin' up and away. What in the seven hells was_ that_ all about? He stared after her and then down at Kaylee, who had a hand clapped over her mouth in shock.

Runnin' a hand over his chest, he stopped suddenly at the strange feel of it. What the….? What'd she spray him with? He tugged at his shirt only to find that it was _stuck_ to him. Jayne lifted it slowly and tugged carefully – _go se!_ It weren't comin' off! "Jayne?" Kaylee's voice intruded on his panic, and he looked up sharply at the sound of laughter in her voice. Weren't nothin' funny 'bout this! She held out the can to him so he could see the label. "What were you thinkin' that made her so het up that she'd glue your shirt to your chest hair?"

 

tbc…  
___________________________________________________

 

 


	7. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:**|   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 7**_

Title: More Than Friends  
Author: [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee, chest hair/glue  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any $$

 

[](http://photobucket.com)

 

 

A/N: Any resemblance between an upcoming scene in the cargo bay and a certain Diet Coke commercial is purely coincidental, up to and including the use of slow motion. This crackalicious chapter is dedicated to [](http://xx-squish-xx.livejournal.com/profile)[**xx_squish_xx**](http://xx-squish-xx.livejournal.com/) for her care and feeding of my plot-bunnies.

 

___________________________________________________

 

"Okay, we can do this one of two ways – I can either cut the shirt off and slice off the skin your hair is attached to, or I can simply pull it off and leave you a bit sore," Simon said cautiously, crouching and holdin' out his hands outstretched as if he were approachin' some wild critter so's not to spook it. Kaylee lifted herself onto her toes to peer over Mal's shoulder to get a good view of Jayne, who had backed himself into a corner of the cargo bay and was holdin' both hands over his chest protectively.

"Ain't there a third option?" he asked desperately.

Mal snorted and stepped forward. "Jayne, quit bein' such a gorram baby and get over here. It'll be over before you have time to miss that rug a'yours."

"Miss what? What's happened? What did I miss?" Wash asked, runnin' down the stairs. "Zo… baby? Come here – this looks like it could be funny," he called back over his shoulder. "What's going on? I don't think I've ever seen Jayne so terrified," he murmured to her as he reached them.

Kaylee quickly explained what had happened, scowlin' at Wash when he began to laugh. "You shouldn't laugh at him, it ain't fair. Poor Jayne," she said worriedly, peekin' around at the big man again.

Wash stared at her incredulously. "What, you didn't think it was funny?"

She shifted uncomfortably, crossin' her arms. "Well, at first? Yeah," she admitted. "But I been waxed before – not _there_, but you get the capture – and he's got a whole lot more'n I had ta get rid of." She reached over and pulled on a few of the pilot's arm hairs sharply, makin' him snatch his hand back. "Now imagine that lotsa times worse."

"Ouch," Wash said again, puttin' a hand on his chest in reflex. "But it's _Jayne_, so that means we can still laugh. Right?" At her angry glare, he backed up and raised his hands. "Fine. I'll on the _bridge_ laughing, then…"

She shifted her eyes back to Jayne, who'd been coaxed out of his corner and into pullin' his shirt over his head so that it hung off of where it was attached to him. He was arguin' over lettin' them just keep the shirt on 'til the hair grew long enough to slide a knife between his skin and the shirt, but Simon was sayin' something about the glue bein' somewhat toxic and that he would stink, besides. Well, he actually said he would stink _worse_, but Kaylee pretended she didn't hear that. They was supposed t'be friends now, after all. Jayne sighed. "A'right, I guess you're gonna have to pull- no, no, _hey_, I ain't _ready_ yet….git away! It's your gorram sister did this to me," he threatened Simon with a fist.

"As if you being your charming self did nothing to influence her. Captain? Get the other side." Kaylee clapped her hands over her eyes as Jayne let out a loud yell of pain; she jus' couldn't watch this. "No, don't pull yet – on three: one, two…two and a half…two and three quarters…"

A hand on her shoulder made her jump in surprise, and she uncovered her eyes to see Zoë beckoning to her. "Past time to be gone," the other woman advised her. They hurried out of the cargo bay and pressed the door lock as Simon got into decimal points, and the last they heard before the door cycled shut was him reachin' 'three', a loud ripping sound, and a real piteous soundin' wail. With another touch on her shoulder, Zoë re-opened the door to let the big merc out; he was lookin' a mite murderous as he stormed past them and down to his bunk without even sayin' nothin' to her, clutchin' his shirt to his chest. "Best be gettin' something for that eye, Sir," the first mate said to the captain solemnly, with a wink for Kaylee as Mal staggered by holding a hand to his face.

Jayne didn't come up his ladder 'til mealtime, and even then he still looked real mad; not that she blamed him, but she didn't like to see him so angry – he'd a real shiny smile to him, even if she was the only one to see it when he weren't bein' mean with it after he'd teased someone. He ate slower'n usual, tryin' not to bend too much and mostly ignorin' it when Wash harassed him. He did, however, give plenty of nasty looks to River's side of the table. "How ya feelin'?" she asked, reachin' out a hand to place it on his arm sympathetically.

She got a blue-eyed glare for her troubles, so just scooted in close to cuddle him out of his bad mood. Kaylee felt a strange urge to simply kiss the frown right off of his face – more'n more, she'd been catching herself lookin' at the merc just for the pleasure of it. While he weren't core-pretty like Simon, he was mightily _swai_ in his own way and it appealed to her more with each passin' tick of the chrono. She decided that Jayne Cobb was a proper treat to look at, no mistakin' it. Kaylee got some looks for snugglin' on him – mostly from Mal and Zoë, Wash didn't seem too surprised – and after rufflin' his hair one last time, stood to help take up the plates while Jayne pretended to be still mad and she pretended that she'd just been sisterin' him, that her heart weren't goin' like thunder under her skin.

The mercenary lurched away from the table, automatically helpin' her with the dishes as best he could, what with havin' to hold his shirt away from his chest carefully. "You should just take it off," Kaylee scolded him. Gorramnit, she wanted to _see_. She'd no rules against a man havin' some hair on his chest, but she was dyin' to see what he looked like without it. He just gave her a look and reached into the jar they'd set up for chores.

"Gorrammit, trash _again? _" he sighed, tossin' the scrap of paper on the table and turnin' to pick up the galley's trash bin.

Wash elbowed Mal. "You're just being a sore loser, Jayne – get it? _Sore loser? _" he grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled on it, wincing like it hurt and just laughin' when Kaylee fixed a glare on him. He stopped laughing when a hurled ration pack hit him hard in the back of the head, and Mal was smacked with one for good measure.

"Hey – I wasn't even laughing this time," the captain complained. "Why'd you have to throw one at _me? _"

"Felt like it," Jayne snarled back.

Simon stepped in quickly, offerin' a jar of something to the angry merc. "Oh, I forgot to give you this – it'll calm down the skin irritation," he apologized, jumpin' when Jayne swiped it from his hand on his way down to the cargo bay with the trash. "Wash your hands first before putting it on," he called after him. Kaylee finished cleaning up and sat at the table just talkin' a spell with the other women before they all decided to go down to the cargo bay for some hoopball – Inara insisted upon being score-keeper no matter what they said, so they laughed and joked all the way down the corridor while Zoë doubled back to ask the others if they wanted to join in the fun.

Kaylee stepped through the door and stopped dead, causing Inara to walk into her and River started to smile when she glanced back at the younger girl. Her eyes were quickly drawn back to the floor of the cargo bay, and to Jayne – he had his shirt off and was pourin' water all over himself from a bucket he'd swiped from somewhere, rubbin' a hand over his chest. And _Ni tama de tianxia suoyou de ren duo gaisi_, what a chest it was.   
She leaned over the railing to get a better look. It was like she was seein' it in slow-motion or somethin'. "_Wode Tian_, 'Nara, you seein' what I'm seein'? Mercy me." Did someone turn up the heat in the ship? The air felt awful close; she plucked at the top of her coverall to loosen a button as she stared at the water runnin' down his chest and stomach. _Wouldn't mind lickin' that water up, myself…_

"What exactly am I supposed to be look- oh, my. _Not_ that I should be looking, or even _need_ to be looking. That's very, um…. Where did Zoë go?" the Companion asked hastily, glancing around.

At that precise moment, Zoë arrived with Wash. "I thought we were playing ball, what – ooh. Honey, don't look or you'll get jealous."

Wash stared around at the women and down at Jayne. "What in the name of…? It's like I'm in the middle of some cheesy adult program from the Cortex. _Jayne! _ For God's sake, _ put some clothes on! _" he yelled.

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Jayne poured the water he'd taken from the shower room over himself once he figured out that splashin' just weren't doin' it. He'd put the _go se_ that Doc'd given him onto his chest, but it had started burnin' like crazy…the water was _supposed _to have been for cleanin' up the rest of the glue that had been in that gorramned can – he'd been mightily pissed off earlier and had thrown it across the bay where it had exploded all over the wall. Looked like most of the redness had gone down from that stuff, even if it had hurt like hell. He sighed in relief as the cool liquid slid over him and brought up a hand to rub off the last of the whatever-it-was, shaking his head from side to side to fling off the water drippin' from his hair.

A shout made him look up to the upper level of the bay, and he saw Wash scowlin' at him…then he noticed that all the women were rangin' around one spot and starin' at him. What was their problem? "Quit pervin' at me," he yelled up with a frown. Ain't like they'd never seen him 'thout a shirt before, the crazy biddies. He still wasn't feelin' real sociable, even if Kaylee had surprised him at the table by puttin' her hands on him like she had. That thought made him look back at his audience quickly – yes, there she was. And lookin' at him like…like…

Maybe he shoulda gone through this a long time ago.

"What're we all gapin' at?" Mal asked. "Jayne, you takin' a bath in here again? We got a special room for that; it's called the 'shower room' for good reason….and put your gorram shirt on, will you? You're scarin' the women again."

Jayne took another look at Kaylee's eyes fixed on him like he was some sorta treat, and turned away as he pulled his shirt back on. He couldn't wait 'til their first combat lesson- then he'd get to have her in his arms for a perfectly good reason. "Need help with that?" she asked suddenly, her voice right in his ear and makin' him nearly jump outta his hide.

"Help with what?" He swallowed hard to find her movin' closer and feelin' a small hand touchin' his chest carefully.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked, beautiful eyes wide and lookin' up at him. Jayne figured she'd stopped thinkin' he was her gorram _ge ge_, from the way he felt her fingers start to slide between the shirt and his skin. He guessed he could handle that. He could handle that just fine.

 

tbc…  
____________________________________________

 

 


	8. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:**|   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 8**_

Title: More Than Friends  
Author: [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee, some Wash/Zoe this chapter  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any $$

[](http://photobucket.com)

 

_____________________________________________________

 

Zoë Washburne made it a common practice never to push her husband into something – it was unspoken between them that she was the stronger of the pair, and although she usually made most of the decisions regarding them, they always discussed it first. So when her beloved Mister had a secret that it seemed like he wanted to keep to himself (that was a rare thing in any case) she never hen-pecked him into revealing it. Oh, she could give him The Look and make him 'fess up on his own…but she loved seeing him so pleased with himself over something; Wash looked just like a little boy trusted with something for the first time whenever he had a secret, and he always told her eventually.

So why did this time bother her so much? _Because this time it ain't about something silly like a plan to buy new bedsheets with hearts printed on them… it's something to do with my crew._ Zoë looked over at her husband, who was fooling with a stuffed dinosaur as they got ready for bed. _What was he hidin'?_ Well, there was more than one way to find out. "Unlace me?" she asked, looking at him through her lashes. The toy dino was dropped hastily and Wash launched himself across the bed at her. This was going to be too easy…

Much later they lay in a sweaty tangle atop their bed and Zoë ran a finger across his chest lazily. "Husband?" she asked.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm?"

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

Wash opened an eye and looked at her lasciviously. "Which part of it?"

They laughed and teased each other for a few minutes more, and then she made her move. "I wonder if we're not the only ones doing this right now," she yawned.

"Well, I'm sure Mal and Inara might be…"

"I was thinking more along the lines of Jayne and Kaylee."

"No, it's too soon for that since they just-" Wash gasped and sat up, glaring at her. "Hey! How'd you know about Kaylee and Jayne?"

Zoë sat back against the pillows triumphantly. "I didn't…but I do now."

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

The next morning, Jayne pulled off his shirt and examined himself in the mirror, runnin' a hand down his chest. He still couldn't get used to bein' bare as a young'un there, but supposed he should be grateful that River hadn't gotten that gorram can of glue down his pants. Didn't look half bad, though…and Kaylee had sure seemed to like it… he shivered just rememberin' how she'd slid her hand up his shirt and over his skin before he'd pushed her off and come back here to take care of the 'problem' she'd created. Did women really like their men to look this? He hooked a thumb in the waistband of his pants and looked down, then up at his chest. _No way. Uh-uh. _ He looked down again. _Well…_ Jayne looked over at the small box of tools he kept near the sink, and to the small scissors he'd used when he still had that goatee – he'd shaved it long since, and used the scissors to trim his hair when it got too long…though that, too, was runnin' a bit wild these days. He guessed a small trim never hurt nobody, and if anyone special saw it, they might appreciate the care he took. He grabbed the scissors and went to work, frowning at the results when he finished. _Hell, I look even bigger now_, he thought with a pleased smile as he reached for his clothes.

The first thing he saw when he climbed up his ladder and pulled his bunk door closed was River, smilin' at him. He tried to remind himself that she was crew now and if he killed her, he'd be out the airlock when Mal got wind of it. And then there was the fact that Kaylee liked her for some reason, and she wouldn't like it if he did somethin' to the moonbrained freak. "Doing spring cleaning?" she asked him.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," he said, turnin' to go down to the cargo bay and find Kaylee. He ignored her laughter, though it set his teeth on edge – why'd everyone always have to laugh at him? He weren't stupid. Well, he weren't some ruttin' genius or nothin', but he was yards smarter than any of 'em guessed. He just kept his learnin' to himself, was all…his mother'd always said, _Remember, Jayne: God hates a show-off_. He wished he could talk to his Ma about Kaylee; she was always good with advice and the like.

Kaylee was workin' on the mule, her back to him with her overalls rolled down around her hips. He moved silently up behind, and leaped forward suddenly, fillin' his arms with her. She shrieked in surprise and kicked out, and he got a wrench upside the head as she flailed her arms wildly. "Gorramnit, it's me," he growled in her ear, shakin' his head to clear the ringing from his ears.

"_Jayne? _ Whyn't you say it was you before you grabbed me?" Kaylee gasped, turnin' in his arms to slap his chest.

He let go and rubbed a hand ruefully over his face where she'd clocked him with the wrench. "Wanted to see how you'd react to bein' grabbed. I see we don't have to work on _that_ none."

"Sorry."

"Forget about it – you did good. Are you almost done? We should move over there," he gestured to the somewhat clean rug he'd brought up from his bunk a few days back. "It shouldn't bruise you up too bad if you're on the carpet." _And it sure as hell wouldn't bruise you if'n you were on my mattress. _ He shook that thought out of his mind before all the blood could rush from his head to his nethers, somethin' that never took long in any case. He taught her to break from several holds and grips, tryin' not to enjoy it too much when she wriggled against him, and keepin' it in mind that the rest of the crew was movin' about, so he'd best watch his step a little longer. When she'd gotten the hang of twistin' away from him and makin' him let her go, they started to speed it up a bit. "After all, you ain't gonna be fightin' off nobody's Grandpa," he told her. "You gotta be able to think fast and react even quicker – think you can do it?"

Kaylee squared her shoulders and nodded. "I'll take you down an' make you cry for your momma," she promised. "Let's get it on, big boy."

He grinned at the thought of it, watchin' her start to blush as she realized what she'd just said. "I'll hold you to that," he teased. "Think you can handle me?"

In response, she canted her head to one side and looked him up and down in a manner that was all kindsa promisin'. "I'm a bit busy, what with fixin' Serenity and all, but I think I could fit ya in," she shot back with a lick of her lips that made some of the circuits of his brain short out. _Did she just say…?_ She took instant advantage of his shock by dartin' forward to kick his legs out from under him. She caught him off his balance and he began to fall backwards, but reached both hands to the floor and curled his body to simply roll with the movement so that he regained his feet easily. Kaylee stayed where she was on the floor, starin' at him. "How'd you do tha-_aaaaaaaaaaa! _" She ended in a   
scream as he lunged for her, and they fell to the deck together.

She had some rare fire in her, that much was sure – she shrieked and squirmed, even bitin' him so he'd let her go as they rolled around the mat. "Looks like _you're_ gonna be the one bawlin' for your Ma," he grunted as she elbowed him in the stomach as hard as she could. "Give it up girl, else I'll sit on ya."

Kaylee gave him a head-butt to the chest. "Cap'n needs a mechanic, not a grease spot on the floor – you ain't sittin' on nothin' but your own tail. _Tian xiode_, how much d'you _weigh? _" she groaned when he collapsed on top of her. "Next time we're goin' down, I'm tellin' Wash to dump your big _pi gu_ out the airlock so we stay afloat. Let up, I need air!"

He lifted himself on his arms and fell down on her again. "Well, I need to get laid, but that ain't happenin' either." When he began to raise up again, the shift in his weight gave her enough room to move her knee up sharply; he released Kaylee to knock her leg away and in a flash, she'd rolled him over and sat on him triumphantly with both knees on his chest.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee pumped her fist in the air. "I said it before an' I'm sayin' it again: no power in the 'verse can-" She yelped in surprise as Jayne bucked underneath her, nearly throwin' her back onto the floor, and reached down to thump him. "No fair, I won! Give, _dong ma? _" she threatened.

He heaved again, almost launchin' her into the air this time. "Or you'll do….what?"

"Or…or….I'll, um, kiss you." She grabbed at his shoulders as he nearly unseated her, trying to press his arms to the carpet and hold him there. Like she had a chance in hell of keepin' him down, but she surely enjoyed the sight of him under her. "I'm serious, I'll do it!" Their faces were just inches apart now, and she felt her heart do that stutterin' thing it had started to do 'round him lately. Kaylee'd been around enough men to know what part of that look in his eyes meant, but the rest of it…she'd never had _that_ directed at her before.

"So do it," he dared her, so quiet she thought she had just imagined him speakin'.

"If'n I do, will you give up?" Kaylee slowly let herself unfold and moved her legs to either side of his body, slidin' the rest of her body so it was flush against his. She felt all dizzy, like she'd pass out. She wished he'd stop lookin' at her like that; plain xing yu she could handle…but not all that. Not all that.

Jayne just gazed up at her, that _look_ in his eyes makin' her tremble. "I ain't never givin' up," was all he said, not talkin' about their play fight at all and both of 'em knowin' it. "Your move." And it was, so she did what she'd been wantin' for a while now. He stayed quiet as she shifted on him, her hair fallin' around his face as she lowered her lips to his with her heart poundin' fit to burst from her chest.

Part of her expected him to just roll her and take over but he stayed still as she kissed him hesitantly, brushing her mouth over his before flicking her tongue at the corner of his mouth and deepening the kiss. She drew back slightly when she realized that he _still_ hadn't moved – had she been that horrible? – and saw that his eyes were closed. They opened slowly and Jayne just looked at her before he smiled and moved a hand to urge her back down to him again. Oh…she guessed she hadn't been so bad, after all. This time he joined in and sweet _Buddha_, could the man kiss. He pushed off of the floor to a sitting position and resettled her so that she was in his lap, wrappin' his arms around her as he slanted his mouth over hers; Kaylee pushed one hand under his shirt and the other through his hair as he pulled her so close she thought he'd crush her against him.

She felt like her entire body was in flames, the feeling of him floodin' through her like a ragin' fire. Why'd it taken so long for them to do this, anyway? Kaylee protested as he drew back, and he laughed. "Let me up, I need air," he teased her by repeatin' her words, his arms still tight around her

"But…"

"But nothin' – c'mon, we gotta clean up the mess you made, thrashin' around like a gorram fish out of water." He moved her off of him, laughin' again as she held on to him. "I'm serious, girl. Or do you wanna be the one explains to Mal why the cargo ain't stacked for pick up? 'Sides, Moonbrain was watchin' and that's just plain creepy."

 

Kaylee reluctantly released him. "If'n you say so – but I ain't the one weighs a million pounds and can knock over the crates with one finger, so you can restack 'em your own self, Jayne Cobb." She straightened her clothing and looked down at her boots, not knowin' what she should say to him. _What did you say to someone you'd only thought of as your_ ge ge _for years and suddenly find yourself neckin' with him, anyhow? 'Excuse me, but if you don't mind, I wanna sex you senseless'? _ Tee wuh duh pi gu, _I wanna kiss him again_, she thought. _And again, and again, and…_

"Hey, you listenin' to me?" he asked suddenly, his eyes narrowin' at her.

"Ummmmm…..no?" She laughed at the smug look on his face. "Was River really watchin' us?"

Jayne pointed up to the catwalk where River was laying with the side of her face pressed to the metal, one eye lookin' down at them. "Girl's just odd." He looked down at Kaylee again and reached out a hand to touch the side of her face. "Listen, about what I…what we…let's just see how it goes, _dong ma? _" he asked, all hesitant now.

Kaylee shivered again at the memory of the look that'd been in his eyes before they'd kissed. She wouldn't mind seein' that again, even if it were kinda scary and new to her. "_Hao_." Forgetting her previous decision, she began to help him restack the crates that had somehow gotten knocked over during their tussle and laughed when he started to tease her about watchin' where her hands were when she brushed past him. The tension between them eased enough for them to laugh and teased each other all the way back up to the galley and past their audience of one, Kaylee not mindin' it a bit when Jayne's arm slipped around her shoulders as they walked.

 

tbc…  
_________________________________________________________

 


	9. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:**|   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 9**_

Title: More Than Friends  
Author: [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee  
Rating: PG-13   
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any $$

[](http://photobucket.com)

 

______________________________________________

 

It seemed like everything was different now, as she opened her eyes and looked around her bunk. And it was – Kaylee laughed aloud and sat up at the thought that, although Mal and Inara had finished their dance, hers was just beginnin'…and with Jayne as a partner. _ Jayne_. Could she really have been that blind not to see what he'd been offerin' her? _ Why didn't he speak up sooner? _ She wondered, and then shook her head. Kaylee knew exactly why he hadn't said nothin' – man like Jayne was bound to keep himself to himself if there was a chance he'd be shot down. _ "I'd treat you proper, Kaylee – you know I would." _ His words to her on Persephone came back to her as well as the sorrow in his voice that she'd hadn't never thought of him as aught but her _ ge ge_.

Well, her eyes were wide open now, and she was ready to see if they'd suit each other. If'n the way he'd been treatin' her of late was any indication of how he _ really_ was, she rather thought they'd fit together quite nicely. _ Fit together nicely? _ Wode Tian, _ get yer mind from the slums, Kaylee, _ she told herself sharply as she brushed her hair out - she was just gonna make sure they were compatible before any sexin' came into it, was all. She didn't much care to get burned like she had with Simon.

Kaylee dressed quickly and hurried up to the galley in the hopes that he'd be there, and was unreasonably disappointed to find only Wash and Zoë. "Oh, it's just you two," she said before she could help herself.

Zoë eyed her as she picked up her mug of tea. "Sorry to disappoint you," she said dryly. "We got much the same reaction from Jayne earlier, didn't we, honey?"

Wash smirked. "That we did, my darling. He's been and gone – should be coming back since he forgot to take his…" the pilot broke off as Jayne ducked through the door "…tea."

"You ain't done nothin' to it, have ya?" Jayne asked, peerin' into the mug and givin' her a smile. "Hey, Kaylee."

"No, seems like you've already used up the last of the steroids so we didn't have anything but hydraulic fluid to put in there," Wash snickered.

Jayne sneered back and made a rude gesture. "Ain't nothin' wrong with my hydraulics," he assured them before amblin' over to see what was in his food locker, frownin' at a packet he pulled out. She giggled when he'd heated it up and dumped it onto a plate, sniffin' at it suspiciously. He looked over at her and frowned. "You want this? It don't look like nothin' I'd eat, never mind that it was in my locker," he offered.

"Mighty generous of you." Kaylee wrinkled her nose at the large, steaming lump on the plate he pushed across the counter to her. "What's it meant to be?"

"Don't rightly know – Moonbrain was in here switchin' labels afore I got it stowed, so it could be anything," he said absently, diggin' through another locker to pull somethin' out before he winked at her. "Shouldn't matter much what it is – you look like you need somethin' big an' hot inside you."

"You're disgusting," Simon announced as he came through the door.

Jayne just looked at him. "Bein' polite never got nobody nowhere," the merc returned cheerfully. "Here, made breakfast for your sister." He slid the plate of whatever-it-was over to Simon and sat down beside Kaylee to eat while she avoided Zoë's eyes and tried not to pay too much attention to the fact that he was wearin' a sleeveless black shirt that clung to his chest in a mighty distractin' manner. _ Ai ya, _ but he was built right. She let her mind drift back to what she'd seen in his eyes the previous night, when Mal walked in with 'Nara and they got down to the business of dolin' out the day's tasks.

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Mal frowned over at the Mule, where some mighty strange things were happening. Jayne was loading the cargo as he ought and Kaylee was, as usual, underneath the thing fiddlin' with something didn't need fiddlin' _ with_ …they were doing their jobs as they had always done, but something wasn't quite right. Perhaps it was that Jayne was going to great pains to step directly over the ship's mechanic when he could have easily gone around. Even as he watched, the merc stopped to nudge her in the side with his foot and when she didn't respond, he placed his boot directly onto her stomach so that she swung a wrench up at him. Perhaps it was how Kaylee scooted out from under there and watched Jayne load up, laughing when the big man started messin' about by lifting two crates at once and then strutting past her again like he was a rooster in a hen house.

Somethin' was definitely off.

The captain watched, eyes narrowed, as Kaylee made a production of feeling at Jayne's biceps admiringly before slidin' back underneath the Mule to fiddle some more. He asked Zoë about it when the mate came up beside him to look down at the cargo bay floor. "You see anything wrong with that picture?"

She looked as Jayne leaned down to say something to Kaylee, the sound of his laughter ringing out as he stood back up and went back to loading. "Looks like they're sharin' a joke, Sir. Could be dangerous."

"No, I just – okay, see that? That right there." he pointed excitedly down to Jayne, who had stepped over the tiny mechanic and set his feet to either side of her to tie a rope to secure the cargo. Kaylee playfully kicked a foot up between his legs and he promptly let go of the rope to sit on her shins while she giggled and tried to get him off. "I'm going down there," he decided.

"Ain't nothing wrong with a little flirting at times, Sir," Zoë said seriously.

"I think you're missing the point here. That over there is Kaylee" he pointed "and _ that_ is Jayne. Those two don't mix." At her amused snort, he narrowed his eyes at her. "You know somethin' I don't?" Mal went down to see for himself, not waiting for an answer. "Jayne! You done loading that yet?"

The merc turned towards him, an unreadable expression on his face. "Yeah, just needs to be tied down."

"Best get to it, then."

"If'n you say so," Jayne said agreeably – maybe he'd just been imagining things, Mal thought. Kaylee scooted out from under once more to grab a wrench and said something about checking the fuel line, walking around the other side while Jayne reached over to tie the rope securely to the rail and asked him to keep it tight. The big man circled around the craft, looping it around the opposite side of the railing and tossing it back over so Mal could do the same. He repeated Jayne's actions and threw the coil of rope back. It missed the merc's outstretched hands and fell to the floor, and Jayne stooped to pick it up. Suddenly the other man yelped and shot upright with a surprised expression on his face, the rope dropping back to the floor.

"Jayne, what the hell are you playin'…" Mal trailed off as he saw Kaylee gliding behind the big merc. "_Kaylee? _"

His mechanic blinked at him, all dewy-eyed and innocent as a newborn calf. "Yes, Cap'n?"

This was entirely too strange. "You go check on the engines and leave the Mule to us men-folk for a while." He turned to Jayne as Kaylee rolled her eyes and left. "You want to tell me what's goin' on?"

Jayne glanced up at him and snorted, then turned his attention back down to the rope he was tying in a knot. "I really got no idea, Mal."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

The next few days after the pick-up were filled with flirtin' as they continued the self-defense lessons with Jayne stealin' kisses right and left, and in the evenings they'd usually just be hangin' together wherever, getting' more comfortable with each other and swappin' stories about their folks. Kaylee told him about her upbringin' and he told her some 'bout his; he weren't used to getting' so personal, she could tell. She had a new respect for the big man after he'd told her all about how he'd been raised by his Ma and had helped raise his younger brothers and sister after their Pa had left 'em on their own. She could hear the love for his kin in his voice whenever she got him to talk about 'em, and that heartened her – you couldn't never trust a man who didn't even respect his Momma, after all.

"I thought you never kissed on the mouth," she protested one night they were talkin' in the engine room and the urge to invite him down to her bunk was near to overwhelmin'.

Jayne slid a hand under his shirt to scratch at his chest. "Naw, you know that ain't true. I meant it for whores and the like is all, and you ain't no whore…could never be if you tried," he said.

She smiled at him, "I dunno, I get some awful dirty thoughts in my head sometimes..." _And they're all 'bout you_, she thought. Maybe she should just invite him on down.

"You'll hafta tell me 'bout those sometime, maybe I'd like to hear what goes on in that pretty head a'yours," he teased, keepin' his eyes locked onto hers as he moved closer to her. That look was back in his eyes – well, it never really went away that she noticed, but now she knew what it meant and was startin' to feel the same way. It was still good to be cautious, though.

Kaylee whimpered as his lips touched hers and she was pulled into his arms for one of the most intense kisses they'd had yet. His tongue tangled with hers as his big hands began to roam over her body, and she slid her hands under his shirt to renew the exploration River's spyin' eyes had put an end to the previous week. His skin felt warm and smooth under her fingers and the urge she felt now was strong enough to break away from the kiss she was near to drownin' in, and yank up his shirt to run her tongue over the solid muscles beneath it. Well, she tried, anyway – Kaylee only got one good lick in before he dragged her back up to his mouth and kissed her hungrily. The hell with takin' it slow – she wanted him, wanted this. "We shouldn't," he gasped out as she ran her nails over the muscles of his back.

"We _really_ shouldn't," she agreed. He slid a hand down her back to squeeze her rear. "Would be a bad idea." Jayne nibbled his way down her neck, swipin' his tongue over the bite marks. She was seconds away from offerin' up her bed – either that or seein' how much weight her hammock could support – when Mal's voice on the intercom broke 'em apart guiltily.

"Kaylee, you got the engine in shape yet?"

She groaned and leaned her head against the wall as she pushed on the 'com button. "She's runnin' a mite hot at the moment, Cap'n, but she'll survive." She looked over at Jayne who was still tryin' to get his breathin' – as well as somethin' else – under control, and sighed. "We gotta work somethin' out, Jayne. Ain't much more I can take of you feelin' on me and not gettin' no satisfaction," she complained.

Jayne leaned back against the engine housing and looked at her. "So you want me?" he asked. Why'd he look so down about it?

"Hell yes, I do, but whenever-"

He looked down at his boots. "Is it just, y'know, sexin' you're wantin' or a mite else besides? I ain't no casual rut," he said, comin' on out with it.

Well, she shoulda known that was what was stoppin' him. Truth was, it still scared her a bit to think on the feelings he had for her – oh, he'd yet to say 'em out loud, but she didn't know if she was _ready_. Gettin' burned with Simon had made her a bit skittish, and she told him so. "Jayne, I just wanna be careful, is all… I got some feelings 'bout you for true, I ain't gonna lie." She went to him and placed her hands on his chest, lookin' up into those beautiful blue eyes. "I just don't want nothin' to go wrong this time…but yes, I want a mite else besides." Jayne's arms came around her then, and she pressed in close to inhale the warm scent of his neck and enjoyed the feel of his fingers combin' through her hair.

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

They stood there in silence, holding each other with their eyes closed and not paying the slightest bit of attention to anything else – as it was, neither of them ever knew it when Mal poked his head in the door to harass Kaylee about the engine repairs and saw them. His mouth, already open to scold the mechanic for not giving him specifics earlier, closed with an audible click that the two_ still_ didn't seem to hear. He was contemplating going in to drag Kaylee away from the other man - he'd go for Jayne first, but didn't think he was strong enough to move him by himself – when a touch on his arm startled him. Mal turned to see Inara behind him, and she put her finger to his lips as she peered past him into the engine room, a tender smile curving her lips. He made to speak, but his lover simply smiled again, shook her head, and steered him to her shuttle.

 

tbc…  
________________________________________________________

 

A/N: _"I ain't no casual rut."_ Let's say it all together now: Yes, you are!!!! XD

 

 


	10. More Than Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As [](http://mercsgoodgirl.livejournal.com/profile)[**mercsgoodgirl**](http://mercsgoodgirl.livejournal.com/) found in her most recent fic, this particular icon goes rather well with the story...

  
  
  
**Entry tags:**|   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 10**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$  
**Notes:** As [](http://mercsgoodgirl.livejournal.com/profile)[**mercsgoodgirl**](http://mercsgoodgirl.livejournal.com/) found in her most recent fic, this particular icon goes rather well with the story...

[](http://photobucket.com)

 

_________________________________________

 

The first time it happened Wash put it down as misguided flirtation, plain and simple. The next time, he scratched his head and wondered. The third time, he decided to just corner Jayne and ask. The looks, the almost-accidental touches…something was going on, and he was going to find out what. He was currently lying in wait for the other man in the galley, since anyone who knew Jayne _also_ knew that the colossus was almost always eating something. Sure enough, the bottomless pit that was their mercenary came through the door just minutes after Wash had installed himself in front of the food lockers. Surprisingly, Jayne went straight to the common area and began to move the chairs around for some reason – he walked over to watch as the other man pulled the cushions up from the settee and looked under them. "The food lockers are in the other room," Wash said helpfully.

Jayne raised his head to look over at him. "So?"

"So, I don't think you'll find anything to eat under there. Weren't you just eating a minute ago? I could have sworn…"

"Very funny. Naw, Kaylee's all upset over losin' an earring somewhere an' I told her I'd find it." Jayne went back to rummaging through the cushions before he crouched to look underneath the furniture. "Ruttin' thing could be anywhere." Wash walked further into the room and leaned against the wall, watching as Jayne sighed in disgust and dropped to his hands and knees to scan the floor. "Why's it gotta be so gorram_ teeny_… Zoë like to wear them bitty things, too?"

Wash grabbed a chair and turned it around, sinking down onto it with his arms crossed around the back. "So, that advice I gave you about Kaylee…how'd that work out for you?" he asked curiously.

"Well, she don't like wontons – I asked her. Where is that rut- hey, there it is," Jayne exclaimed happily, picking something off the floor with exaggerated care.

Wontons? What on God's Green Earth That Was did _wontons_ have to do with anything? He was just about to ask when their earlier conversation came back to him. "No, I asked if she liked _wanton destruction. _ Are you sure there's actually something between your ears, or do you just rent it out by the hour?" he asked before he could help himself. Jayne's face darkened and he pushed to his feet to leave. "No, wait…I'm sorry, don't go." He was dying to be let in on the latest gossip, not least because Zoë had been harassing him for details.

"Why you always gotta be that way?" The big merc demanded angrily. "I ain't gotta tell you nothin'."

"But you _want_ to, and I'm here to help you with that urge to have a man-to-man talk," Wash wheedled shamelessly.

"If'n I want to talk to a man, I'd have to find one first. Where _is_ Zoë, anyhow?" Jayne grinned.

Wash glared up at the other man. "Very funny, coming from the famous ape of the cosmos. I helped you out, now you can help me out by letting me live vicariously through your inept courtship skills and fumbling. It'll give me something to laugh at when I'm up on the bridge with nothing else to do."

"Maybe I don't wanna talk about it," the merc said evasively.

"Since _when? _ Aren't you the one who says every little thing that crosses your tiny little mind?"

Jayne stared at him. "Yeah, that's a shiny way to get me to tell you somethin'." But after a quick glance towards the doorway, he pulled out a chair and sat down. "Here's the deal…." Wash felt his expression slowly slide from curiosity to incredulity as Jayne told him about what had occurred – glossing over the details which were probably as interesting as the fact that there was actually something the merc wanted to keep to himself – and he laughed aloud when Jayne ended his tale by relating what he had told Kaylee. "…so I just said I weren't no cheap an' easy lay, and - what?"

Wash couldn't contain himself any longer. "But, Jayne…you _are_ cheap and easy," he hooted.

"That's it," the other man decided, lurching out of the chair and reaching for the collar of his floral-printed shirt. "I been wantin' to cram you in one of them lockers ever since I came aboard," Jayne snarled.

A cool voice cut across the sounds of their quarrel, and they both turned to see Zoë standing in the doorway. "Do I have to separate you two boys since you can't play nice?" Jayne snorted and shoved Wash away from him, brushing past the disapproving first mate. "You want to tell me what that was all about, Husband?"

He began to laugh again and pointed towards the back of the departing merc. "Sweetie – you won't believe this, but Jayne just said that he wasn't_ cheap and easy_…!"

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

With the earring safely delivered and the prize of a kiss collected for findin' the gorram thing, Jayne left the engine room smiling as he headed down to the cargo bay to do a few reps on his weight bench. He greeted Simon amiably as the two passed each other, not seeing the shocked look aimed after him…the doctor shook his head and kept walking. "What's up?" he asked curiously when he noticed Mal circling around the Mule and frowning at it.

The captain looked up at him, a mightily odd look comin' over his face before he blinked and glanced back at the craft. "Zoë tells me there was some sort of drag to this when she flew it last – looks like we might've hit something." He pointed, and Jayne followed his direction to crouch down, peerin' under the Mule.

"Hell, looks like it's fixin' to fall apart down here," he said thoughtfully. "Prob'ly be put right with some weldin' – you asked Kaylee about it yet? I thought she checked this out." There was that weird look on Mal's face again – 'Nara must've been doin' somethin' freaky lately, he was actin' all kinds of jittery and odd these past few days.

"If you think you can weld it back, best get on with it," was all the other man said.

Jayne shrugged and tossed his towel onto a nearby crate. "Ain't gonna be no problem," he assured the captain as he went to fetch his welding gear. He soon regretted sayin' that, since it turned out to be trickier than he'd thought – when he finally got it fixed, he placed the torch on the deck and stood to stretch cramped muscles.

"Whatcha doin' down there?" He turned to see Kaylee leanin' over the railing. "Looks like hot work, maybe ya should take your shirt off," she said hopefully.

He winked up at her. "Maybe later, if'n you ask sweet enough. After all, I was doin' your job for ya." He explained about the Mule, and grinned at her yowl of outrage that equipment had been damaged. "Don't fret over it, Zoë prob'ly just hit some rocks when she weren't payin' attention and talkin' to that fool husband a'hers."

"Jayne! That ain't nice."

"I ain't nice, girl."

"Are too, your mouth just needs some schoolin'," she said with a bright smile as she went back through the door. Jayne shook his head and turned to put up his gear, cursin' when he saw that the torch was layin' on its side and the flame he coulda sworn he'd shut off was heatin' up one of the spare sheets of metal he'd used for patchin' the Mule. He put back on the heavy gloves and propped it against the weight bench to cool while he finished cleanin' up. On his way back up for a shower, he passed Mal and warned him about not touchin' it until he gave the go-ahead. Zoë walked by seconds later, and he reached out to give Kaylee a playful pinch as she came out of the engine room to see what was goin' on. She slapped his hand away, grinnin' as she went by. Seconds later as he was headin' in the shower room, he heard a cry of pain that made his blood freeze. His clean clothes and towel were abandoned as he dropped them to race back to the cargo bay…

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee followed Mal and Zoë back to the cargo bay. "How'd the Mule get so beat up?" she asked disapprovingly. Weren't no excuse for messin' up things that shouldn't never have cause to be broken in the first place, her Daddy had always said so. Both of 'em fidgeted under her glare and she sighed, knowin' she weren't about to get a confession any time soon. "Never mind, I'll just go down an' make sure it'll fly next job." She rolled her eyes affectionately at 'em and skipped down the steps to the Mule.

It looked like Jayne'd done a real shiny job weldin', she thought to herself as she knelt to peer underneath the craft curiously. She always liked to watch him work; you'd think a man like Jayne would make a mess of everything he did, but that weren't the case a'tall. He always kept his space neat and clean, and took pride in doin' a good job no matter how he grumbled 'bout it… she smiled at the thought of the big man as she ran an appraising hand over the joins on the bottom of the Mule. The smile turned to a puzzled frown as she caught sight of a piece of scrap metal leanin' against the weight bench – that was odd, why'd he leave it out like that?

Probably too busy thinkin' on her askin' him to show her some skin, Kaylee thought with a smile, and reached out for it. She'd put it away for him, and then tease him over cleanin' up after him like she was his momma – he'd most like give her that little scowl that was so cute. Her fingers curled around the edge of the metal sheet and all thought of Jayne was abandoned when agony suddenly stabbed its way through her hands, and she screamed in pain as she dropped the blisteringly hot sheet of metal.

She hunched over reflexively, tears spillin' down her cheeks, when suddenly Jayne was there. "_Chúsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo! _ Whyn't you tell her not to touch it?" he bellowed over his shoulder. "Let me see yer hands, _bao bei_," he coaxed in a different tone, and she gulped back another sob to extend her hands towards him. Jayne hissed between his teeth, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her off to the infirmary, yellin' for Simon. "Where the ruttin' hell is he?" he muttered angrily after settin' her down on the edge of the exam table. "Doc, get yer ass in here _mashang! _" She bit back another sob and leaned into him – _wode** tian**_, it hurt like a mother.

Simon walked in the room. "What did you do now – _Kaylee? _ What happened?" he rushed forward to her, and checked at the sight of her hands. "How…?"

"She grabbed onto some hot scrap in the cargo bay…._gorramnit_, but I shoulda put it in the airlock," Jayne said, scrubbin' a hand through his hair. Simon hurried to get bandages for her hands after he had her put her hands under a cooling stream of water from the tap, instructing the distressed merc on how to wrap it proper while he fixed a smoother for her. The pain medicine kicked in and she sighed in relief, saggin' against Jayne…just her luck that she'd messed with somethin' like that. She extended her hands again and watched as both men wrapped a hand carefully; when Simon started to automatically give her spare bandages and cream for the burns, Jayne snatched 'em away. "She can't put 'em on by herself….'sides, was my fault she got hurt so I'll do it," he muttered, lookin' as miserable as could be.

"It weren't your fault, I was the one grabbed it," she protested, not likin' to see him so down.

Jayne sighed as Simon discretely left the room. "I shoulda moved it 'stead of just tellin' Mal 'bout it. I'm awful sorry, Kaylee," he said.

She reached up to touch his face with her fingertips, which were about the only thing stickin' out the wrapping, and the term slipped out before she even thought about it. "Aw, baby….you know this means you gotta be my nurse now, right?" she teased, then yawned as the rest of the smoother started kickin' in.

"Nurse, huh?" he bent to lift her in his arms again. "Looks like you need a nap before anything else, includin' bein' nursed by a mean old man…hey! Nursin' includes givin' you a _bath_, don't it?"

Kaylee giggled, as he'd plainly meant her to. "It might, ya naughty thing. Plus there's the outfits." She yawned again and fell asleep as soon as he laid her down on River's bed. Wakin' up much later, from the looks of the chrono, the smoother'd mostly worn off and she climbed off the bed careful not to lose her balance. It smelled like dinner was ready, and she realized in alarm that it'd been her turn to cook it. Kaylee moved to the closed door and reached for the latch release when it opened to reveal Jayne on the other side. "It was my turn," she lamented.

"That ain't nothin', Zoë got it covered soon as she heard." Jayne reached out to smooth her sleep-rumpled hair and lifted her hands in his gently to check on the dressin'. "How's your mitts?"

"They been lots better," she started, but the rumble of hunger from her stomach near drowned her out. "…an' I guess my stomach's been better too," she said wistfully. "Is, um, dinner gonna be soon?"

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and guided her down the stairs to the galley in reply. "I'll get ya settled, don't worry."

"But how'm I gonna _eat_ it?" she exclaimed in dismay as she saw that Zoë had made stew.

Jayne fixed her with a look. "How you _think _you're gonna eat it? We put some in a blender and I got you a straw." Her mouth dropped open, and he started to smile. "Oh, I'm just playin' a bit – I said I'd get ya settled, an' I will." With that, he pulled out a chair for her and went to get a bowl of stew for her.

Zoë came in and started to put Jayne through the wringer for swipin' food when she noticed Kaylee and sat down beside her. "How're the hands, _mei mei_?"

"They hurt plenty, but that smoother near did me in so I dunno what Simon's got in his bag a'tricks… I still don't see how I can eat that, Jayne," she complained when the merc plopped the bowl down in front of her. "I ain't about to eat it like no dog, either, so-" she was silenced when he returned with a spoon, pulled the bowl over, and lifted a spoonful of it to her mouth.

"Well, you ain't exactly got the grip that's needed to pick up a spoon…. what? She can't eat it by _herself_," he said defensively when Zoë started to laugh. "You gonna eat this or what, girl?" Kaylee opened her mouth obediently, tryin' hard not to laugh as he fed her. He was so _serious_… when he saw her face, he stopped and sighed at her to behave before givin' her another spoonful. The others came in askin' about her and smilin' at the sight of her bein' fed like she was a little'un, so Jayne got her a drink with a straw while he ate and got the cream to rewrap her hands before bringin' her more stew. "You look like you're about ready to get in that bowl and roll around in there," he smiled.

With her feelin' better – the cream soothed the burns so she could relax some – and her belly half-full of good food, she giggled at the thought of climbin' in the stew. She studied Jayne closely as he fed her carefully; the others had finished up and left, so it was just them. The throbbing in her palms eased as she thought on his care for her, and strangely enough she was gettin' the feelin' she usually got when they was sneakin' a kiss somewhere. _ Down, girl – he's just feedin' you, it ain't foreplay or nothin'. _ The thought didn't help none, though.

She couldn't help herself from clampin' her teeth down on the spoon when he was ready to pull it back, and he looked at her in surprise when she slid her lips off it and licked the end suggestively. Jayne stopped completely to stare at her, then slowly put more stew on the spoon and extended it to her again; this time when she pulled off the metal, she leaned forward to repeat the action slowly while she looked up at him through her eyelashes and licked her lips after she'd lifted her mouth from the spoon. Jayne stared at her for another long moment. "Kaylee…what the hell was in that smoother?"

Want was surgin' through her veins with a roar she could hardly hear over. "I'd like more, please."

"…_stew_, right?" he asked warily.

Kaylee locked eyes with him and parted her lips slightly. _Time to jump, girl. _ "A mite else besides."

 

 

tbc…  
_________________________________________________

 

 

 


	11. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 11**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** R for naughtiness and hormonally-induced creativity  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

_Jiao-zi_ – Pan-fried dumplings  
_Ni hao mei_ – You're so beautiful   
_Ni mei shi ba? _ – Are you okay?  
_Wo hao_ – I'm fine  


___________________________________________

 

Jayne let the spoon fall to the table with a clatter, starin' at Kaylee. _What the ever-lovin'_ jiao-zi_ is goin' on? _ "Like I asked earlier, what exactly was in them drugs Doc gave ya?" She just looked up at him with those big brown eyes, smilin' and rubbin' her knee against the inside of his leg. "Hey, quit it," he protested.

"Kiss me, an' I'll stop," Kaylee bargained.

"I can't be messin' with ya if'n you're hurt, wouldn't be proper," he said stubbornly, still tryin' to cover up how pleased he was that she'd stopped bein' evasive and told him what she wanted. Although, she was so stoned outta her gourd that she might not've meant that she wanted to be with him…she probably was just wantin' some touch. Maybe smoothers just made folk horny. He was also tryin' to cover his reaction to her lickin' that spoon – he'd never wanted to be a piece of metal so bad in his entire life. "Look, while you was snorin' in there Moonbrain said she'd switch bunks with ya til you were good with usin' your hands to climb down your ladder – that gonna be okay?" She was real cute when she was all loopy, Jayne thought with a smile.

Kaylee pouted up at him and then gave a huge yawn that she stifled against her arm. "You're no fun…carry me to bed?" Prob'ly thought she was bein' subtle, but he obediently picked her up and carried her in to lay her on the bed. Looked like River also switched some'a their things too; there was some clothes hangin' up, and a faded quilt spread over a small table. "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" she asked, flutterin' her eyelashes at him and holdin' her arms out. Yeah, subtle as a Reaver in a gorram party dress. Jayne leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek – didn't seem right to kiss her proper, for some reason – and stood up to help her under the blanket while she grumbled at him.

"You need somethin', I'll be on watch tonight. You want me to send someone to check on ya in the mornin' afore I get up?" he asked, restin' his palm against her cheek. Kaylee blinked sleepily up at him and shook her head "no". He'd ask 'Nara to look in on her anyway. Jayne left the door slightly open and went to the bridge, passin' Mal on the way…they'd made their peace concernin' Kaylee after she'd been sleepin' earlier. "Hey, Mal? Wouldja mind askin' Inara if she'd look in on Kaylee in the mornin' if'n I don't get up first?" he asked.

"Not a problem, she'd be glad to help out. Kaylee mad at you?" The captain asked curiously.

Jayne looked away to hide a grin. "Not 'xactly…Doc said it'd be 'bout a week for her to heal up – well, it's really only gonna be a few days, but if'n she starts workin' too soon it'd set her back a ways so we're just not tellin' her 'til the week's up."

"Means more work for you," Mal said bluntly. "You up to it?"

He stood up straight at the implication that he couldn't do it. "I can take care of her just fine, you'll see," he promised. Mal walked on, and Jayne went up to the bridge where he passed six hours thinkin' on Kaylee before Wash replaced him and he headed to his bunk. He paused with one foot on the ladder and looked towards the guest quarters before leavin' his door open and walkin' back to slide the screen back. Jayne leaned against the door frame and watched Kaylee sleep for a bit before he slipped inside to kneel at the side of the bed and settle the covers over her. _Ai ya_, but she was precious to him.

He brushed his lips against hers gently, and she stirred in her sleep and smiled. "I love you," he whispered before standin' up and turnin' to head on down to his bunk. Behind him, Kaylee's eyes opened to look at him, closing quickly when he turned to look at her one last time before he slid the door shut.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Inara smiled as she opened the door to find Kaylee struggling with her clothing with an extremely annoyed look on her face. "You look like you could use a hand," she said, stopping to wince at her choice of words. "Sorry. Here, let me help you with that…feel up to a shower?"

Kaylee flopped down onto the bed and sighed in relief at being rescued. "Yeah, I was just tryin' to get outta the coverall first. Don't think Jayne wants ta tote around somethin' as smelly as me, no matter how much he loves me."

Well, that was interesting. "So he's finally told you? I didn't think it would take him long," Inara said thoughtfully.

"What, you _knew? _ An' you didn't _tell_ me? I thought we was friends, 'Nara," She complained, but let herself be guided down to the shower room. Inara smiled as she helped her friend out of her wrinkled clothes and listened to more of Kaylee's grievances. "He actually told me last night, thinkin' I was asleep when he said so."

Inara leaned into the shower enclosure and flipped on the water, angling the spray towards the wall. "Well, I suppose that's not really surprising, _ mei mei_. Jayne's loved you for a long time and even though he won't show it, he's afraid of being rejected. How do you feel about him? Do you love him? I think you'll have to get the wrapping wet…"

Kaylee sighed and ducked under the water, turning around to face Inara and reaching out her bandaged hands for the soap. "It's still a mite strange, but…yeah. I do." She frowned suddenly. "He don't wanna sex me while my hands is all wrapped up though. I tried my best ta get him into bed last night - mighta tried _too _hard on account of the pain meds…think I scared him a bit."

"That's a surprisingly wise decision, and very considerate of him."

"What? No! No it ain't at _all_!" Kaylee scowled as she stepped out, shivering as she allowed Inara to towel her down.

Inara helped her dress quickly and wrapped a towel around her wet hair after helping her clean her teeth, ushering her out and into her shuttle. "Let's fix your hair up in here…" She suppressed a smile at the sullen look on Kaylee's face. "_Mei mei_, just think of it – if you want him as bad as he wants you, you won't be happy not being able to touch him….lean forward? Yes, that's perfect… and if you insisted upon trying, you'd hurt your hands. But there are plenty of things to do that don't require the use of your hands, just his for some of it. _Tianna, _ I can't believe I'm actually giving you tips to try out with Jayne."

"Tell me!" The sparkle was back in Kaylee's eyes as she looked into the mirror at Inara. "Do you think he'd do it?" Inara sighed, shook her head, and proceeded to tell her friend exactly what she needed to do to ensure Jayne's compliance. Kaylee was giggling and looking positively diabolical by the time she was finished, and they talked in murmurs together on their way back to the galley.

Jayne was awake and making tea when they walked in, and Inara smiled to herself to see the look on his face when he looked up. "Heya," he greeted, leaning down to engulf the smaller woman in a one-armed hug when Kaylee went straight to him to lean against his side affectionately. "How you feelin' tod-" he broke off with a frown when he noticed the sodden bandages. "Gorramnit, girl, you ain't supposed to get them things wet." As he led her away to change the wrappings, Kaylee looked over her shoulder at Inara with a wink.

She made a mental note not to tell Mal about having given the ship's mechanic tips on the best way to seduce Jayne…it really wouldn't lead to anything good if he found out about it. Shaking her head again, she left to return to her shuttle.

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Kaylee smiled as Jayne bent over her hands, carefully patting them dry before spreading the burn cream over the palms – the salve was cold, but she shivered from the sensation of his fingertips touching the sensitive skin. Her hands actually felt lots better, but she weren't ready to grab onto anything…she supposed Jayne'd been right about not wantin' to mess around, but 'Nara had given her all sortsa ideas that she was confident she'd be able to talk him into tryin'. "You eat yet, _ bao bei? _" he asked, flickin' his eyes up to see her reaction to the affectionate term. She smiled at him.

"No, not yet. Didn't even get no mornin' kiss," she said, pushin' out her lower lip. She waited for him to finish wrappin' up her hands and sighed when he raised them to his lips and kissed the back of her knuckles. "This is just gettin' a bit silly," she informed him and immediately clambered into his lap the best she could – he was forced to put his arms around her to keep her steady, and she placed her arms over his shoulders with her hands stickin' straight out so she didn't bang 'em on nothin'. "Try again," she ordered.

Jayne laughed and tried to get away with peckin' her on the lips real quick, but she pressed forward and started kissin' him like she meant business. "Your hands," he muttered against her lips, and moved back. "We can't be doin' nothin' with you hurt," he began.

She silenced him with a glare. "There's lotsa things we can do that don't involve no hands, Jayne Cobb. Like _kissin'_, for starters – get yer lips back here."

"_No hands? _ Like what?"

"Lips over here, Jayne."

His arms tightened around her and he touched his lips to hers again in a kiss that fair made her see stars. Kaylee relaxed against his chest, curlin' her arms around the back of his neck as his tongue slid into her mouth… she moaned when Jayne pressed her close and ran his hands up and down her back, his fingers slidin' beneath the hem of her shirt to touch her skin. When he'd finished scramblin' her brains all to hell, Jayne pulled back slightly and laughed when she collapsed against him. "That good enough?"

"Yeahhhhhh, that was fine," she sighed happily.

Jayne kept her on his lap while he fed her breakfast, not payin' any attention to the looks they was gettin' from the others, but her plans for makin' him carry her down to his bunk were neatly derailed when a loud noise from the engine nearly made her fall off his knee in surprise. He put down their food and went with her into the engine room to see what was goin' on – her face fell as she saw the problem, and knowin' she couldn't fix it with her hands like they were. "If'n I could just hold a wrench, I'd get it," she lamented, leanin' against the engine.

"Can ya tell me what needs doin', maybe? You know, like that time we was outrunnin' the Reavers?" Jayne asked, peerin' into the engine housing. She smiled in relief – that would do it for sure. Pointin' to various tools, she started tellin' him what he needed to do. At length it was fixed, and she was explainin' the various parts of Serenity's engine to him while he concentrated hard and tried his best to remember what she taught him. They spent the rest of the day in the engine room, Kaylee's heart near to burstin' with pride as Jayne slowly started to understand the terms she was usin', pointin' to various parts she named to show her how hard he was tryin'. "I dunno, maybe we need to come in here tomorrow to see if'n I remember somethin'," he frowned. "I ain't smart like you, knowin' how to fix things."

She smiled at up him from her hammock. "Don't put yourself down near me, Jayne Cobb – you ain't stupid though sometimes you do a fair job of actin' like it." Jayne snorted. "We just learned different things first is all; my daddy taught me all 'bout fixin' stuff, and you leaned to be all intimidatin' and a good shot besides."

"Learned how to get in good with the ladies too," he said smugly, flexin' his muscles and makin' her laugh. After he helped her eat dinner, they passed the remaining hours before bed cuddlin' up on the rec area couch and talkin' about whatever came to mind while the others played cards and Simon watched River draw blueprints. Her friend looked up to smile sweetly at her, winking as she picked up on Kaylee's thoughts of wantin' to get down Jayne's ladder....did that mean she'd help her down? River laughed aloud suddenly, and Kaylee hid a grin – yeah, that's what it meant. _Past time I went down there. _

Between them they got Jayne to stop hoverin' by her long enough for Kaylee to give Inara the heads-up to send the merc down as soon as he came back from fetchin' her sweater in the engine room…it weren't there, a'course. "I ain't aidin' and abettin' any sex," Mal announced loudly when he finally figured out what was goin' on.

"Sex? Who's having sex?" Wash piped up, lookin' around.

"Honey, just deal the cards," Zoë instructed.

Simon kinda just looked like he was about to lose his supper and sank down behind the cards Inara calmly dealt him after takin' control of the deck from Wash.

It actually wasn't hard at all to get down the ladder after she'd told River what code to put in, but her friend was there to make sure she didn't fall or nothin'. "Have good sex," River said seriously before climbin' back up and closin' her in. Kaylee walked around Jayne's bunk, inspectin' the place and marvelin' yet again how neat and clean he kept things. Everything had a place, she noticed, all tucked away to make the room seem bigger – which Kaylee guessed was because he took up quite a bit of space just with his own body. A body she'd get to see tonight, God willin'.

The hatch opened, and Jayne stuck his head down. "What the ruttin' hell you doin' down there?" He sounded mad.

"Waitin' for you," she said sweetly. "You comin' down?"

"Yeah, and I'll haul your bitty little _pi gu_ back up ta where you belong," he threatened, makin' the ladder rattle as he stomped on down the rungs. "You need to quit messin', baby girl - told you my mind on things and I meant it," he said, foldin' his arms and starin' down at her.

Kaylee sighed and reached out for him. "Baby, don't be mad…I just wanna spend some time," she cajoled. What if he really _did_ haul her back up?

"For the last ruttin' time, your _hands_…"

She blessed the pain meds she'd taken at dinner. "Toldja I knew 'bout some things to do that don't need hands. Put yours behind your back," she ordered, doin' the same.

Jayne did like she asked slowly, suckin' in a breath when she started to rub against him. "You'd best watch it, girl," he warned. Kaylee just grinned up at him, turned around, and began to grind against him – she pulled away when he tried to put his hands on her hips, and shook her head.

"No hands, remember?" she murmured.

"Right," he said huskily. "Don't wanna knock you over, is all. Get against that wall." She shivered as she did so, gaspin' when he bent his head to suck and bite at her neck. Kaylee arched into him when he started movin' on her, pressin' back as hard as she could. Somehow they ended up on the bed, rubbin' nethers slowly and kissin' whatever skin their lips could reach until Jayne pulled away slightly and began to slide down her body, his mouth movin' over her. "You like this shirt?" he growled suddenly.

"W-wha..?" she gasped. "You ain't _stoppin'_, are ya?"

"This_ shirt_. It a favorite or somethin'?"

"No, it's just an old-" she gave a surprised yip when he got a mouthful of the fabric and tugged, makin' the buttons fly off and clatter onto the floor. His lips brushed against her bare belly, settin' off another wave of heat that spread straight to her nethers. "You're wearin' too much," she gave a panted complaint. Jayne grinned and tugged his shirt off over his head in a quick movement. "Cheater." He just grinned again, leanin' forward to kiss her before movin' farther down to try his luck at undoin' her pants. The feel of his mouth so near to where she needed some touch near drove her crazy. "_Cao_, Jayne, just touch me," she moaned frantically.

Jayne kissed his way back up her belly, pullin' at her bra with his teeth. "You sure?" he rubbed his face against the thin material, makin' her nipples peak before he moved his mouth to lick at her through the cloth.

When he closed his mouth around her fabric covered nipple and sucked, her eyes nearly rolled back in her head. If he didn't stop playin' soon, she swore she'd kill him herself; as it was, it was gettin' mighty hard to remember that she weren't supposed to touch him none. "_Tian xiao de_, I'm sure." He propped himself up on an arm and brushed his fingers between her legs, makin' her clamp her thighs around his hand. "_Jayne_," she wailed. "Baby, _ please_."

"Yes, ma'am." Jayne made short work of her pants, strippin' 'em off and sittin' back on his heels to stare. "_Ni hao mei, _" he breathed.

Kaylee shivered again at the want in his eyes; she weren't even out of her unders an' he looked like he wasn't about to let her up for three weeks. "You're still kinda overdressed for the occasion," she suggested, reachin' out with a bandaged hand to run the tips of her fingers over his thigh.

He grinned. "I ain't wearin' no unders."

"So?"

"_So, _ I'm thinkin' we'll save the gettin' nekkid part for later."

She spluttered. "But...but…what…"

"Ain't said nothin' against bein' naughty, though," Jayne laughed, lowerin' himself over her. Much later, he pulled a blanket over them while she was layin' against his chest still tryin' to breathe proper – that man sure had a way with his hands, even if he hadn't even taken off her unders to do it. "_Ni mei shi ba, ai ren? _" he murmured, kissin' her lovingly.

She sighed and snuggled closer, warm and happier'n she'd ever been. "_Wo hao, bao bei_…believe me. _Wo** hao**. _"

_A girl could get used to this_, was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

 

tbc…  
________________________________________________________

 

 


	12. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More than Friends - 12**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** NC-17...it's got The Naughty, folks.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$  
**A/N:** This chapter started out with a plot until Jaylee tossed it out of the airlock - honest to goodness it did...but I hope you are entertained all the same. Numfar, do the dance of smut!

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

_kuangzhe de_ – crazy, insane  
_nianquing de_ – young one  
_suoyou de dou shidang _– all that's proper  
_Duibuqi_ – sorry  
_Wenshen_ \- troublemaker  


____________________________________

 

Some things just weren't meant for two. Evac suits, assault rifles, and skinny whores were just a bit of what couldn't never be shared and Jayne was about to add his bed to that list. He'd fallen out at least ten times during the night, startled awake by the fear that he was squishin' her and each time he climbed back under the covers, Kaylee had inched over a bit more until Jayne finally gave up and just stayed on the floor instead of fightin' for a sliver of his own gorram mattress. Who'd a thought such a bitty girl could take up so much room? Well, he supposed it were a good thing he was used to hard livin' and could sleep just about anywhere.

He woke and rolled his head over to the bed, where a delicate snorin' sound meant that his Kaylee weren't awake yet. _His Kaylee. _ The thought made him smile, and he moved closer to her and settled down to go back to sleep. The next time he opened his eyes, he looked up to see her leanin' out the bed and watchin' him with the look he'd been wantin' to see on her face ever since he came aboard Serenity. "Hey, darlin'," he yawned, stretching muscles stiff from bein' on a hard floor all night. "Think you could let me up in there for a bit?"

"Whatcha doin' on the floor?" she asked, rollin' to one side and droppin' the blanket so he could get in beside her.

"Had a wild bed hog attack me last night – sure hope it's gone now," he teased, slidin' in the bed with her and strippin' his shirt off to toss it on the floor. Kaylee melted against him instantly, pushin' her face into his neck and hummin' happily when he stroked her back. "Yeah, think I scared it off." Havin' her against him with almost no clothes between 'em made his body respond to her bein' so close, and she giggled into his collarbone when she felt it. "Aw, ruttin' hell…"

"Rut is the right word for it," she grumbled. "When you gonna give me some, big man?"

Jayne laughed and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Don't last night count for nothin', lil' girl?" he pressed a kiss beneath her ear and released her, sittin' up to reach for their clothes. "C'mon, we gotta get your paws fixed up – they feelin' any better?" She nodded, holdin' her hands out for inspection before foldin' her arms all expectant-like, waitin' for him to take his pants off. Just to mess with her, he pretended to start unbuttoning and when she leaned forward to look Jayne quickly pulled on a shirt. "Think these're okay to wear another day," he grinned at her disappointment; he'd change 'em when he'd gotten her up the ladder.

After takin' her to get some clean clothes and bein' chased out the room when he pretended to try – except it weren't really pretendin'- to get a good look at Kaylee's particulars, Mal nabbed him for some repairs while Kaylee went with Simon to get her hands looked after. Doc sure seemed nicer to her than he'd ever been when they was still together, and it made Jayne wonder a bit…maybe Fancy Pants was missin' what he'd had and wanted another try. Not like Kaylee would think about it again, though. He set down the wrench he'd been usin' and lifted his head to look in the direction they'd gone. Or would she? _That's crazy, since she sure weren't thinkin' on **Doc** last night. _ He picked the wrench back up and firmly diverted his thoughts to somethin' a sight more pleasant by calling up the memories of Kaylee gaspin' his name and pushin' against him while he kissed and stroked her body. _I gotta get with her soon or I'm'a go_ kuangzhe de _for sure_.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee tried her best not to laugh at the uncomfortable look on Simon's face as he checked her hands a final time. "It doesn't look like your, um, activities slowed the healing process any," he stammered.

"Oh, Jayne was real considerate like that – just kept me on my back the whole time an' told me not to touch nothin'," she couldn't resist teasin', although it were the straight truth. Simon turned red and looked away from her. "So, how much longer is it gonna be?" she asked, hearin' a whine creep its way into her voice.

"I'd say only four more days, as long as you keep from touching anything."

She crowed in triumph and impulsively leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Simon. I gotta go tell Jayne…" Kaylee hopped down from the exam table and ran out to find her new man to tell him the news, surprised to find him in the engine room lookin' at the wiring. "Hey, big 'un, whatcha doin' in here?"

Jayne looked over at her. "Just tryin' to see if'n I remembered anything."

"Do ya?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "No. Not _really_, leastaways. Gets awful muddled in my brain," he admitted.

Kaylee settled into her hammock. "I been thinkin' 'bout that. Got an idea." she outlined her plan for him as he came to crouch beside her and listen, and he flashed her a relieved smile when she was through. "Some folk just learn different than others, but if'n you really wanna know 'bout the engine I think this'll be perfect for ya."

"Ain't nothin' else I can do until I get you an air rifle to practice with, an' your hands is messed up for a while longer – might as well," he said. "'Sides, gotta show my girl I ain't too stupid." Jayne left to collect the supplies after a lingerin' kiss that heated her up quite nicely, and Kaylee lay back in her hammock thinkin' about her plan. She'd sent him to get different colors of either tape or string, and once he got back they'd color code the entire engine room…she knew he weren't stupid, he just needed somethin' else to help him learn his way around. Jayne came back with a handful of yarn and some electrical tape he scrounged from somewhere, and they got to work.

The days passed slowly - slower'n she ever thought they could - until her bandages came off. Kaylee spent most of her time with Jayne, tryin' not to think on the things they'd be doin' soon enough as she taught him about Serenity's engine, watched him liftin' weights, sittin' at table with him while he fed her, and especially when they spent nights together down in his bunk. She knew he wanted her, could feel the proof of it, but Jayne didn't try nothin' much except for kissin' her so thoroughly that her whole body was buzzin' like it was fit to explode, then cuddlin' up for sleep against her after he'd given her a hand to relieve her fiendin'. And then complainin' the next mornin' that she'd shoved him out the bed again.

It was mighty frustratin', no bones about it, but she found she liked the way he treated her as if she weren't just one of his whores – Jayne cared for her and was real respectful, but made sure to let her know just how much he wanted her and was ready to be as nasty as a girl like her could wish for. The tension 'twixt 'em was increasin' with each hour, it seemed, and the others'd said things 'bout it. "Keep it under control, mei mei - don't need no brush fires outside the bunks," Mal had instructed her.

Even Zoë had weighed in with her opinion as well as an offer she might well have meant: "He gives you any trouble, I'll shoot him for you, _nianquing de_." Wash, of course, had a few well-chosen barbs to throw out but she knew he was teasin'. Hell, she knew they were all just protective of her but only Inara and River really knew how it was between her and Jayne. The only thing she weren't sure of was tellin' him that she loved him…somethin' just kept the words from comin' out her mouth for some reason. It weren't like she didn't know if he loved her back or not; she knew he did – but typical Jayne, he didn't speak on it and likely wouldn't until she told him first how much she cared. She figured it was just nervousness that kept her mouth shut about it…after all, she'd never really told a man she'd been with that she loved him afore – she thought she'd been close to sayin' it to Simon once, and a'course she loved her Daddy and Mal an' Wash, but that were a different kind of love she bore for 'em. Well, she weren't plannin' on goin' nowhere and she'd tell Jayne sooner or later.

The day finally came when her bandages came off and as soon as Jayne helped her up on out of his bunk after she woke up the irritated merc, she waited impatiently for Simon to get to the infirmary and give her the go ahead. "Kaylee…you couldn't wait until a time when the rest of us were actually _awake? _" Simon groaned as he stumbled from his quarters in his pajamas.

"What's wrong? Even Jayne was all mad at me."

"Have you looked at a clock? It's _three in the morning. _" He yawned and blinked at her. "But since I'm awake, I might as well look at your hands."

Kaylee trailed after him, biting her lip. "Sorry, I didn't check…"

Simon sighed and stifled another yawn as he flipped the lights on. "Don't worry about it." He unwrapped her hands and inspected them quickly. "Looks fine to me; just make sure to use that lotion I gave you for at least another week. It's nothing special, you just should make sure the skin doesn't dry out from being suddenly exposed to the air. Now if you don't mind….I'm going back to sleep and suggest that you do the same." He staggered off, and Kaylee grinned as she made her way back to her man's bunk. Jayne might be mad at her for wakin' him up, but she knew a sure-fire way to get him in a better mood.

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Jayne grumbled as he felt Kaylee's cold feet slip back under the blanket to touch his legs, but moved back against her out of habit to help warm her. Why she couldn't wear somethin' warmer on her feet than those gorram pink sandals, he'd never know – after nearly a week of sharin' a bed, he knew that the sooner her feet were warm, the sooner she'd quit her fidgetin' and go to sleep. He heard a giggle from somewhere around the small of his back and opened an eye, debatin' whether to turn around and let her have it again or not. Jayne decided to keep the peace a bit longer and closed his eyes again, pullin' the cover up around his shoulders to try for some sleep. He was defeated once more when Kaylee started wrigglin' around behind him, the giggles startin' up again. "Go to _sleep_, girl," he warned.

"Don't be nasty, I just need to put my lotion on," she admonished, pokin' him between his shoulder blades with the bottle.

Jayne snuggled into his pillow and closed his eyes again. "Then put it on and quit messin' back there!" Sleep started overtakin' him, but the feel of warm skin against his back as well as a tiny hand creepin' around his hip brought him back to consciousness quickly. "What the…?"

He started to turn but she stopped him. "Stay right there, Jayne." The tickle of her warm breath against the back of his neck made him close his eyes yet again, though it had nothin' to do with bein' tired. Hell, he could sleep later. Kaylee shifted against him and he realized that she'd taken her clothes off and was pressed up to him, bold as brass and bare as the day she'd been born. And _suoyou de dou shidang_, she had the wraps off her hands and was reachin' around to return the favors he'd been givin' her all through the past week. Kaylee's fingers traced the outline of his _jiba_ while she latched her mouth onto the curve of his neck and sucked hard, and Jayne groaned at her touch. "You can turn around now," she breathed in his ear.

Flippin' over, he ran his eyes over her form – _Wuo de ma, _ she was a fine one. A bit skinnier'n he usually liked, but mighty pleasin' to his eyes all the same…'sides, she weren't no casual whore to mess with. This was his woman who he'd do anything in the 'verse for. And right now his woman was tellin' him to lose the rest of his clothes….that right there was an order he could live with. Jayne dropped his hands to the fastenings of his pants, watching her as he slid 'em off his hips and over his eager parts. If the look on her face didn't make all the waitin' worthwhile, he didn't know what could – he'd never seen her mouth drop open like that for anythin' but a yard full'a spare parts. "My face is up here," he teased.

"_Wode Tian_. How'd you manage to hide that beauty away for so long?" She gaped.

Jayne reached for her. "Weren't easy, what with you runnin' about in them overalls…c'mere," he said huskily. "Lord above, you look even better 'thout 'em." He ran his hands over her body, his earlier irritation at his loss of sleep a distant memory. Settlin' one hand on the swell of her _pi gu_ and the other at a breast, Jayne slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her hungrily. The time for waitin' was long over. When her fingers curled around his cock and began to stroke eagerly, he just groaned and let her keep goin' while he imagined what it would feel like if'n she put her mouth there. The image inflamed him enough for him to pull back and ask. "_Ha wo deh bang, bao bei_…please?"

Kaylee laughed and scooted down his body. "Mercy, you ain't even gotta ask." She leaned over his nethers and bent to lick him from root to tip. "_Ai ya_ but you're a big boy, Jayne Cobb." A second swipe of her tongue threw his head back and bowed his spine, and his hands fisted in the blankets when she wrapped her lips around him, getting' down to business. _Made_, was she good at it. Kaylee flicked her eyes up to his as she sucked him halfway to heaven, and when he motioned for her to move to his side she just grinned and came up off him with a mighty dirty soundin' slurp. "Yessir."

She wriggled around and squealed when he grabbed her, liftin' her over to settle her over him. Jayne slapped her rump playfully. "Get back to it, girl," he ordered. Kaylee giggled again and obeyed, and he ran his hands over as much of her as he could reach while he enjoyed her skill. _Girl could suck the ruttin' hull off a ship. _ He moved her a bit more, then pressed down on her hips so she lowered herself onto his mouth.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Kaylee trembled as she felt Jayne's hands grip her hips and his tongue begin to work on her at the same time she was suckin' on his _diao_ – and she had thought that just his _hands_ were good at feelin' on her? Even the chafin' of his shadow beard felt wonderful with his lips and tongue strokin' her _Ni yin_, and she had to lift her mouth up off him to avoid accidentally bitin' down on account of how good he felt. She took him in her hand and beat him off, feelin' the muscles in his legs jump an' twitch and hearin' his groans of pleasure as he licked her. "That's…oh, _cao_," she moaned again when he started rubbin' his tongue over her clitoris. The ecstasy built into an overpowerin' wave as he brought her to orgasm, and she muffled her scream against his hip when he threw her over the edge by pushin' a finger inside her. "Lord above, Jayne…" she rolled off him and giggled helplessly when she couldn't force her limbs to move.

Jayne laughed and pulled her up to him after straightenin' her out. She arched against him when he bent his head to nuzzle at her neck and down to her breasts. "All'a you tastes good," he sighed as he took a nipple into his mouth. When he'd nearly driven her to another climax just from feelin' on her, Jayne rolled her onto her back and settled atop her. "Didn't never think I'd get to have you," he murmured, blue eyes shinin' with the love he kept from speakin' on.

She reached up and laid her palms against the sides of his face. "You shoulda spoken up sooner, _ai ren_. We wasted so much time…but you got me now."

"Do I?"

Kaylee pulled him down to her. "You do."

Their lips met in a slow, sweet kiss and Kaylee ran her hands over him, lettin' her fingers trace his warm skin. She enjoyed the feel of him under her palms, fingertips tracin' muscles earned from a lifetime of hard work – it seemed only natural to her that they went from the eager, heated play of earlier to this slow lovin'. Truth be told, this made her feel even weaker with desire for him and from the look on his face it was havin' the same effect on him. "Make love to me, Jayne," she said softly, slidin' her hand 'twixt his nethers to stroke him. "I need you inside."

She arched up against him when he brushed a finger over her center, dippin' it inside. "Don't wanna hurt you," he whispered. "_Tianna_, Kaylee… I waited so long for this."

"You ain't gonna hurt me. Please, Jayne…I need you now." She sighed in relief when he finally moved between her legs, settin' himself at her entrance – Kaylee lifted her legs about his hips and moaned when he started pressin' into her. She clutched at Jayne's shoulders as he filled her near to burstin' and still weren't inside all the way. "_Wode Tian, _ how big _are_ you?" she panted, tryin' to relax enough to admit him. He'd certainly been more'n a mouthful earlier when she'd been goin' down on him, but she guessed it'd just been a while since she'd had anyone even close to his size. Sweet _Buddha_ the man was huge all over.

"_Duibuqi_," Jayne apologized, shiftin' to bring his head down to kiss her again. "Oh, Kaylee...." He slid a hand between their bodies, fingers rubbin' against her sweet spot and she forgot all 'bout the discomfort as she clung to him gaspin' his name. Soon she was beggin' him to move and he did, startin' up a slow rhythm that was at once too slow an' just right – the feel of his _diao_ draggin' out of her and pushin' back in fair drove her wild with the sensation, and her breath came in increasingly louder pants, mixin' with Jayne's low grunts of pleasure. Kaylee was lost to everything but him, his body, and the sighed words of praise that slipped unsteadily from his lips as he filled her again and again, turnin' her to pure gold beneath his touch. They moved slowly, then more urgently together 'til she dug her fingers into his biceps and climaxed with a cry that was echoed by Jayne as he found his own release within her body.

They stayed locked together for a long moment, tryin' to get their breathin' under control before he slipped from her and flipped both of 'em over so that she was layin' atop his broad chest. "_Ai ya_, Jayne…that were nothin' short'a_ lingren jingyi_," she sighed happily.

"Hell, I can do better'n that; you surprised me is all – you an' your dirty lil' hands snuck up on me," he yawned. She laughed and pressed a kiss to his collarbone before movin' a leg to tangle between his and fallin' asleep. The sounds of the rest of the crew gettin' up an' about woke them a few hours later, and Jayne swore as he checked the chrono. "Ruttin' hell, I'm late…"

Kaylee rubbed the sleep from her eyes and blinked at him. "Since when d'you even give a rat's _pi gu_ 'bout bein' on time, _Wenshen_?"

He stretched and grinned down at her, droppin' back down to the pillows. "You got a point there - and '_Wenshen_'? I like that…like you more, though," he said, haulin' her closer to him and leanin' in for a kiss.

"You do?" she teased.

"Mmm-_hmmm_." A loud bangin' from up the ladder interrupted the progress of his lips on her neck, and he pulled away slightly. "_What?!?!? _" he roared. Kaylee tried to control her laughter when she heard Wash's muffled voice yellin' right on back at Jayne and then the door was kicked again. "I swear, whenever that _houzi de pigu_ finds somethin' weighs more'n his own left shoe he's gotta come to me for help liftin' it." He scrubbed a hand through his hair, makin' it stand on end as he looked back at her with a sigh. "An' he's gotta come for help right when I got you down here all nekkid an' _meili_ as hell." Jayne slid from the blankets and reached for his clothes; Kaylee eyed him appreciatively – sure seemed a shame to hide all that pretty, and he just laughed when she told him so. "Keep it up an' next thing you know I'll be spending all day lookin' in a mirror. _Jiao ni sheng haizi mei pigu yan_, I'm _comin'! _" he yelled up the ladder when Wash came by to give the door another kick.

"Jayne! That ain't nice," she scolded. He just gave her one of his smiles and another kiss before goin' up the ladder and surprisin' Wash by openin' the door – the fabric of her shirt covered up her grin at hearin' the pilot's surprised yelp as Jayne scared the life outta him by bellowin' somethin' right in his face. Pullin' on a fresh pair of coveralls, she got up the ladder and out in time to see Zoë with her arms crossed an' watchin' the two men who were arguin' over somethin'. "Mornin', Zoë," she greeted cheerfully as she closed the bunk door and headed to the galley when she stopped to glance over her shoulder.

"Why don't you just get a gorram crate to stand on, 'stead of bangin' on my door?" Jayne's voice carried over to them from where he was arguin' with Wash.

"A crate would be smarter as well as have better manners, so perhaps I'll do that next time." Wash shot back.

"Hey, don't get on me over it – ain't _my_ fault you're a bitty little runt…"

Kaylee back at Zoë again. "What're they goin' on about?"

"Honestly? I have no clue…those two love to butt heads so much I'm thinkin' we should just get Shepherd Book to marry 'em next time we're on Haven." Mal's second smiled back at her. "How are you feeling? Hands any better, or..._ah_," she said when she noticed that the wrappings were gone. "I take it we can start having the fire extinguishers on standby," she commented in an amused tone.

Kaylee grinned at her. "You could if'n you wanted, sure… I hit that all mornin' long an' still ain't got nowhere near enough." Zoë started to have a coughin' fit, and Kaylee looked around to see that the boys had stopped yellin' at each other; Wash was starin' at her as if she'd grown an extra head or somethin' and Jayne just had the devil in his eyes as he watched her. "What? What'd I say?" She wondered aloud if there was any breakfast left and turned towards the galley, Jayne's laughter soundin' out in the hall behind her.

 

tbc…  
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	13. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
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_**More than Friends - 13**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** R  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$  
**A/N:** I firmly believe in Happy Endings™ ...hover for translations.

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

___________________________________________

 

Kaylee did her best to concentrate on the parts she was wirin', but it was mighty hard when there was a six foot four somethin' she'd _ rather_ be concentratin' on only a few feet away from her. She snuck looks at him, unable to keep the damn fool smile from her face every time she glanced over to see him frownin' in concentration…the tip of his tongue was stickin' out his teeth and it were simply the cutest thing she'd ever seen. He was mutterin' to himself as well, desperate to prove he was a good helper by fixin' a short in the access panel. "Red is auxiliary…no, auxiliary's s'posed to be _ blue_ …or was it green? Naw, think it's blue. This goes _ here_ …" She walked closer to watch as he found the problem and rewrapped the wires like she'd shown him; Jayne took a deep breath as he carefully stretched a hand out to flip the switch that would redirect power through the panel…when nothin' happened he exhaled in frustration and was about to reach for the wires again when the green light on the indicator came on. He twisted about to look up at her, the smile she so loved to see spreadin' across his face. "You see that? That was me, I fixed that," he boasted, puffin' up his chest.

"You sure did, _ bao bei_." She smiled at him proudly as he rose to his feet and stretched.

Jayne crossed over to her in two big strides, towerin' over her. "Got anything else that needs fixin'?" he asked suggestively. "I still got the right tools for whatever job needs doin'." He caught her hand and started to guide it to his crotch when Wash popped his head in the door.

"Hey, time to –oh, for God's sake. Don't you kids have a bunk or two to do that in?"

Kaylee giggled and laced her fingers through her man's, turnin' to face the pilot. "Where's the fun in goin' where it's expected? I seen you and Zoë once…"

"Point taken," Wash said hastily. "Time for dinner."

"Who cooked it?" Jayne asked suspiciously.

"I did."

"Oh, lord – last time you cooked that meant we just got ration packs on plates," Kaylee sighed.

"Hey!" Wash's face turned red. "Don't forget about the napkins I folded into swans!"

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Mal eyed his crew as he sat down at the table. Jayne and Kaylee had teamed up for dinner and made a real meal instead of the ration packs he'd seen arranged neatly on the table. He was still getting used to the idea of the two of 'em pairing off like they had, but they _ did_ seem to suit each other. They hadn't had any fights yet – wouldn't be a long time coming with Jayne the way he was, that much was sure. Kaylee was smilin' more than ever, which was saying a lot…and he'd even seen some smiles on Jayne's face as well; that meant more to him because if the merc was even slightly happy, Jayne wouldn't be challenging him on so many issues. Serenity would run a lot smoother with those two caught up in each other, he decided with a smile of his own for Kaylee as she set a plate in front of him. Then again…maybe not. His mechanic lowered herself into her seat gingerly, scooting to the edge with a wince. "Mercy, Jayne – told ya you're too big," she commented. "I ain't gonna be able ta sit proper for weeks."

"Can't help how I was made."

Mal pushed his plate away, no longer hungry.

"Hey, you gonna eat that?"

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Havin' Kaylee in his life and in his arms was a blessing and there weren't no mistakin' it…the past few weeks with her were like somethin' from a dream, but it made him wonder what would happen when and if he woke up from it. Maybe it were just plain superstitious _ go se_, but he was gettin' bothered at not havin' the words said between them. Every time he felt like sayin' it, somethin' always happened to stop the words from comin' out – oh, he felt it and was sure she did too…but his momma'd always told him to be honest with the one he was with. He weren't sure what was stoppin' him from speaking on what he felt for Kaylee and didn't even want to think about whatever it was that kept her from tellin' _ him_ how she felt. Lately he'd been wakin' up from dreams of her leavin' him for Simon, and though he tried to forget 'em they kept creepin' back into his head whenever he saw her talkin' to the doctor.

Doc.

He'd seen Doc lookin' at her an awful lot lately – lookin' at her and then lookin' at _ him_, like he knew somethin' Jayne didn't. Weren't no one in the 'verse he could talk to about it, either…well, exceptin' Mattie. But Mattie weren't here now, and he didn't know what to do. Jayne was careful to stay as far away from Simon as he could, not talkin' to him more'n he had to because he knew somethin' violent might happen. Mal made it clear to him that he wouldn't tolerate any more attempts to turn Doc and River out and he knew he'd be spaced for gorram sure if'n he laid so much as a finger on the other man. And ruttin' _ hell_, was he tempted to lay all ten on the boy.

Whole thing was a gorram mess he could only forget about when they were lovin' each other. Jayne looked down at the tiny woman who was curled up against him and snorin' on his chest, fightin' back the panic at the thought that she might not want him anymore. He tried his best to relax, but his stomach was in knots…if only she'd wake up things might not seem so bad. _ Wake up, xin gan. Wake up an' tell me I got nothin' to worry about, _ he silently begged. Kaylee just slept on and after turnin' over to try to get comfortable Jayne closed his eyes, tryin' not to think of it. After what seemed like hours, he fell asleep and woke later to her kiss. "You're lookin' a bit rough today – bad night?" she asked cheerfully, givin' him that smile that always made him feel like everything was right in the 'verse.

"Bad dreams," was all he had time to say before she cuddled up and started kissin' on him so he just about forgot his own name. All thoughts of his uncertainty and worry were shoved right out his head when she snuck a little hand down to wrap her fingers around him. All that he could think about was how nice it felt to have her lickin' her way down his chest and stomach, loudly praisin' every part she kissed. She always seemed to know just how to touch him, and his eyes drifted shut in pleasure as her tongue flicked over the tip of his _ diao_ before she set her lips to him and started to suck. "_ Wuo de ma_, Kaylee…you're ruttin' _ lingren jingyi_, ha wo deh bang, ahhhh…" He encouraged her by workin' his fingers into her hair and guidin' her head up and down over him, groanin' her name when he got close.

Jayne rolled her onto her back and buried himself inside her wet heat, growlin' gut deep with each in-thrust while she grabbed at his back and wailed out her appreciation. "_ Cao_, Jayne, I – I – I'm gonna…" she screamed her climax into his neck as he gave it to her hard, just how she liked it. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the feelin' of her clamping down on him and he rose up on his arms to piston into her until he came with a loud groan, shovin' forward and rubbin' against her when he felt her tiny hands pullin' at his hips. "_ Ai ya, qin ai de_ , you've sure got a gift for ruttin'," she sighed happily up at him. He smoothed his hands over her, feelin' no small amount of pride at the way she was shiverin' on account of him – after he'd gotten both of 'em cleaned off some he came back to the bed to curl around her. They drifted off together, only awakened by the sound of Mal's irate voice over the comm; Kaylee giggled when he told the captain off in the rudest terms he knew even as he was tuggin' his clothes on. "Just tell him you didn't forget 'bout the job at all," she advised. "You was just gettin' your strength up for the liftin' he's bound to have ya do."

He laughed as he knelt to lace his boots. "Think that'll work? Maybe I'll just tell him to go t'hell so both of us can just stay here an' _ zuo ai_."

Kaylee skipped past him, dartin' away as he reached out a hand to swat her bare _ pi gu. _ "He'll just threaten to leave us dirtside, but you'd best get up there afore he gets so mad he comes down here. I'll be late for helpin' Simon with the – somethin' wrong, _ bao bei_?"

Why'd she have to say that name? He looked away, actin' like he was searchin' for his gear. "No, nothin' at all. Why should somethin' be wrong? Is somethin' supposed to be wrong?" He knew he was talkin' too fast and bit back the question that welled up, beggin' to be asked. "Can't find my gloves," he added, as if that were a good explanation.

The small frown that was on her face eased slightly. "Didja check your pockets? You put 'em there sometimes."

Jayne made a small show of lookin' for 'em while she got dressed. "No, they ain't here – wait, I found 'em." He pulled them from his battered tan coat (right where he'd known they were) and held them up. Before he knew he was gonna say it, it slipped on out. "So, you an' the doc are gettin' along real good these days."

She gave him another of those looks, like she didn't quite know what he was up to. "Well, a'course we are. Jayne, what-"

Jayne cleared his throat loudly and looked down at his boots. "Look, I gotta go tie the cargo down or Mal's gonna have my hide."

"Well, we can have somethin' ta eat together. We ain't landin' for three more hours anyhow."

He backed away from the hand she stretched out to him. "I gotta go – I ain't hungry." He didn't see her hurt expression when he turned his back to her and climbed up the ladder.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Somethin' was going on, and she was gonna find out just what it was…that was assumin' she could pin her man down for some questions. For someone so big, he was remarkably hard to find on a ship the size of theirs. He'd been actin' a mite strange for a while now, though this was the first time Jayne actually brushed her off – she didn't know why he didn't seem to want her to touch him. Hadn't they been havin' fun earlier? Maybe it was somethin' she'd done in bunk that made him angry at her… she tried to remember what all they'd done durin' their mornin' tussle, but still couldn't figure it out. She checked the entry codes, tinkered with the engine, and kept stickin' her head out to look for Jayne who didn't seem to want to be found. _ Maybe it's because I ain't never told him I love him_. The thought startled her into droppin' a wrench on her toes and she hopped about on one foot, swearin' at the pain. _ Though it ain't like he's exactly tellin'_ me _ how he feels_. Thought that weren't really true – she know he loved her 'cause he'd said so, and out loud, too. He just didn't know she'd been awake when he said it.

Kaylee plopped down into her hammock to rest her foot, thinkin' back to where it'd gone wrong… and nearly fell back out again when she remembered. She'd said somethin' 'bout Simon when he'd gotten all strange with her. _ I musta been_ wanquan yuchun _ to mention him…he probably thinks that I still_ … How dare he think that she an' Simon were…? And right after they'd been lovin', too! She leaped out of the hammock angrily, intendin' to find Jayne and give him a piece of her mind. "_ Nifeng le_, Jayne Cobb," she muttered as she stomped off to find him.

"Kaylee, you got those entry codes?" Mal called to her from the bridge, stoppin' her right when she caught a glimpse of Jayne for the first time in nearly three hours.

"Cap'n, everything's shiny – don't worry." Wash cornered her about somethin' next and she lost sight of the merc as he went down into the cargo bay. Then she was needed in the engine room as they landed…and when she finally got free to hunt her man down, he finally had a real reason to be too busy for talkin' to her. "Hey, I gotta talk to you," she protested.

The big man didn't even spare her a glance as he lifted a heavy ammo case onto the Mule. "And I gotta work, so I wonder what I'll end up doin'." She drew in a quick, hurt breath at his tone of voice and reached out for him.

"Jayne! Get that cargo loaded up so we can get us some cashy money," Mal warned from the catwalk as he followed Zoë on down. "Kaylee, you let the man work and get the medicine lists from Simon." Kaylee could have screamed in frustration when she saw Jayne's closed-off expression as she turned to obey the captain, but made a promise to herself that she'd corner the big _ xiangbalao_ soon as the job was finished an' he came back aboard.

 

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

With the goods delivered and his cut of the pay in his pocket, Jayne wandered through the streets aimlessly when Mal cut him loose. Normally he'd try to find somethin' for Kaylee because the girl loved any kind of surprise gift – he'd seen her nearly go spare over a rusty old pile of bolts once – but just thinkin' about her made his stomach feel like it was tied in knots. He found his way to one of the local waterin' holes and eased onto a stool, signalin' for a drink and sippin' the rotgut as he thought on her for what seemed like the millionth time that morning. If Kaylee decided she didn't want him no more, weren't none of her own fault – it'd only be his for not lovin' her proper. Simon was far more fancy than he'd ever be; fancy manners, fancy clothes, fancy talk and more besides. He'd seen time and again how she liked that sorta thing, so maybe he was just kiddin' himself that she was hangin' around for more than just the sexin'.

Jayne slammed the empty glass down on the weathered and scarred wood in frustration. Gorrammit, but he loved that girl more'n he loved his own life. He'd waited and waited for just a single chance to show her that he could be good for her, and now he'd messed it up somehow. Someone sat down beside him as he tossed back another shot and tapped the glass on the bar in a silent demand for another, and he glanced over as the newcomer laughed suddenly. "Somethin' bugging you, boy?"

He recognized the voice as Monty's, and turned to greet the burly man. "You could say that – how you been, ya ugly bastard? See you got that beard back." The two man exchanged insults and boasts before discussing current jobs.

"Mal still payin' you? You ever need a _ real_ job, you come find me – always got a place for a big dumb ox such as yourself," Monty offered.

"I ain't that desperate…listen, I'll be seein' you around; got me some business needs attendin' to."

Monty winked knowingly. "I'm sure you do, boy." His leer made it obvious that he was thinkin' Jayne was after some paid tail, but Jayne didn't tell him different. He left the old pirate behind after tossin' some notes on the bar and made his way back to Serenity – first thing he'd do would be to find Kaylee and have a talk with her. It was past time he told her how he really felt, and far past time to hear how she felt about him…he walked faster, hopin' the liquid courage would stay with him long enough to get to her.

 

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee picked through the drawer of medical equipment idly as Simon finished writin' down the list of medicines he needed Mal to buy. Every so often she'd look up at him, studyin' his face – it were true that Simon was good lookin', and she'd always thought so. Prob'ly always _would_ think so. But he weren't the one she wanted anymore…there was just somethin' about big, _ swai_ Jayne that caused her to feel shudders runnin' up and down her skin whenever she thought of him, and she'd never really felt that way 'bout Simon. It was almost like Jayne had been made just for her; whenever she wanted to try somethin' new he was always up for it, no matter what it was. They got the same jokes, could talk about anything – even 'bout the engine sometimes now he was learnin' from her.

It hurt that he thought she might be thinkin' to turn back to Simon; why anyone would trade up Jayne Cobb was a mystery to her. Maybe it was time to just swallow her pride and come on out to tell him how she felt 'bout him, because she loved him more than anything in the 'verse. But she weren't blind; Kaylee'd seen the way Simon was lookin' at her these days, 'specially when she'd come up from Jayne's bunk all flushed with her _ wenshen_'s lovin'. Maybe he was regrettin' that they'd ended their fling and wanted another chance…not like it'd ever happen; she thought of Simon more as a brother now but if she'd noticed how Simon was lookin' at her, that meant that Jayne had, too. So she figured that she needed to tackle this head-on at the source afore she made things right with her man.

"Simon? Need ta ask you somethin'."

He looked up, still a mite distracted. "Yes?"

"Might seem weird an' all, but I gotta ask…you don't think that we – you and me, I mean – still got a chance together, do ya?"

Simon sighed and set down his notepad. "Kaylee, I…well, no but…" he looked at the floor and back up at her, clearin' his throat and colorin' up. "No, it's just that, um, I see how happy you are with…with _ him_, and I guess…I wish I'd been able to put that smile on your face."

Kaylee blinked in surprise. "Oh."

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Jayne reached the landing field, silently rehearsin' in his head what he'd say to her – maybe they could even spend the night off the ship so he could take her out somewhere nice. She'd like that. _ Only if'n she ain't picked Doc over you_ … He shook his head to clear it of the unwelcome thought. Why would she ever pick Fancy Pants over a man like him? He trotted up the ramp, noddin' to Zoë as he passed the tall woman on his way to the engine room. Jayne poked his head in the door and called out for her, but she weren't there. Weren't in her bunk or his, either. Galley was empty, so was the guest quarters. That left only one place, if'n she hadn't left the ship…

 

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Simon moved closer to her. "Would you ever give me a second chance, if I asked?"

She reached out and put her hand on his cheek. "Look, Simon. We was together for a bit and it was nice – but I'm with Jayne now an' I love him. Think it's best if'n we're just friends." Kaylee tried hard to think about how she could convince him, and hit on somethin' she was sure would work. "I don't rightly think you're serious 'bout that, an' I'll prove it – I bet if we kissed right now you wouldn't feel a thing."

"You would…let me kiss you?"

"Just this once, 'cause I know it won't mean nothin'. Ain't no other way I can prove that we're not good together no more," she said thoughtfully. "Just once on the lips, mind."

He began to lean in closer, closin' his eyes.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Jayne took the steps to the infirmary two at a time, tryin' to convince himself that there weren't nothin' in the 'verse to be worried over. Maybe she just hurt herself or somethin', an' needed to visit Simon. He came around the corner and was about to step inside the room when he looked up. _ No. _ Wode tian, _**no**. I ain't seein' this, I just ain't. _ But he was, and his mouth worked soundlessly as he tried to tear his eyes from the sight in front of him. Kaylee. And Simon.

He backed away silently, waitin' until he got back to the ladder to break into a run that got him out of there and back to his bunk. Jayne couldn't even remember his own code and after pressin' in some numbers that didn't work, leaned his forehead against the bulkhead and tried not to sick up right there in the corridor. He didn't even realize he was shakin' as bad as he was until a hand touched his arm and he lashed out blindly. "Jayne?" Inara's startled voice forced him to turn and try to apologize for strikin' at her. Whatever she saw on his face was enough for her to go pale. "Jayne?" Her voice was softer some, like she knew what was goin' on an' didn't mind that he'd almost hit her.

"I just don't feel good," he muttered, lookin' everywhere but at her. "Sorry 'bout smackin' at ya."

"Jayne." Like he didn't know his own name or somethin'. Like she could_ understand_.

He moved away from her sharply as she reached out a hand for him again. "Don't ruttin' touch me," he snarled. "You ain't got no idea what it's like." The anger cleared his head long enough for him to remember the code for his bunk and he punched it in, slidin' down the ladder and closin' the hatch in Inara's face.

He had some packin' to do.

 

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee pulled back from Simon and opened her eyes. "Nope, didn't feel nothin'….you?" Simon looked sick, and confessed that it had been like kissing River. "See? Told ya. Oh, I gotta get back up to wait for Jayne…don't tell him I kissed ya or nothin', would you? He might take it wrong." He agreed and turned back to makin' the med list as she skipped up the stairs. Time to find Jayne and tell him somethin' that was long overdue to be said.

Inara was standin' in front of Jayne's bunk hatch for some reason, lookin' mightily odd. "What's goin' on, 'Nara?" she asked cheerfully, reachin' to push in the door.

"I wouldn't go down there if I were you, _ mei mei. _ He's…pretty upset at the moment."

"Guess the job didn't go good. I got somethin' to tell him that'll put him in a better mood, so don't worry – he'll be smilin' in no time," Kaylee winked.

Inara stopped her again. "_ Mei mei_...he knows, I could tell that he'd seen something upsetting when he came up the stairs."

Kaylee's brow furrowed. "Up the stairs? What was he doin' up the – oh, no. No. Oh, Lord, no. He saw me an' Simon…._ go se_. I gotta fix this." She opened the bunk and went down the ladder, ice formin' in her stomach.

"You sure got some nerve to come down here," was the first thing Jayne said to her as she closed the hatch. She turned to see his normally tidy bunk in a mess – and were those duffles she saw packed with his gear?

"Baby, you don't understand… that weren't what it looked like."

"What the _ fuck_ was it, then?" She stumbled backwards in shock from the anger in his voice as well as the fact that he'd used the vulgar English instead of the common Mandarin they were all used to usin' whenever they were cussin'. "You figured out you don't want me no more, that's fuckin' shiny, Kaylee – but don't wait til I'm gone and make sure I find you with him. That ain't right an' you know it," he hissed at her.

Tears began slidin' down her face as she tried to make him understand. "Just let me explain!"

"Start explainin', then." Jayne turned away from her, continuin' to pack his gear as she haltingly explained what had happened in the med bay. He did pause thoughtfully for a few moments after she'd told him all the ways she could that she loved him, and his shoulders slumped slightly when she fell silent, chokin' on her tears. "I'm thinkin' it's a bit too late for that now, Kaylee."

"What? No, it ain't – ain't never too late," she blurted out, reachin' for him. "I wish I'd told ya long ago, Jayne…but I love you an' no one else – you gotta believe me."

He turned to face her and sat on the bed, takin' her hands in his big ones. "Look, Kaylee… I've waited an' waited for my turn, bein' all kinds of patient even when it near killed me to be. I ain't never loved a woman as much as I love you, but I've made mistake after mistake in my life, rushin' into things 'thout condsiderin' consequences."

Kaylee felt the blood drain from her face, watchin' his face intently. "Don't do this," she whispered.

His fingers tightened around hers slightly. "I'm thinkin' that I've got to, Kaylee. I spent so much time heart-sore an' when I finally got you, it just…" He swallowed and looked down at their linked fingers. "I can't take it no more, much as I love you. I need time away to think about things and clear my head."

"No you don't," she sobbed, tears fallin' fast now. "Don't go."

Jayne looked up at her from his perch on the edge of the bed, and she saw the gleam of tears in his eyes. "I need time, Kaylee. If'n you find someone new, I won't hold it against you none."

 

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Mal stretched out his hand, and Jayne shook it readily enough. "You got a berth?" he questioned.

The big man nodded. "Yeah, I'm set."

"Won't lie that it stings like hell to lose you…'course the galley supplies will be safer with you gone, but…" the captain glanced over to where Kaylee shifted from foot to foot, rubbing at her tear-streaked face. "What about you and Kaylee?"

"I reckon that's between me an' Kaylee."

Mal nodded. "Right."

The two men studied each other for a moment as Inara, Zoë, Wash, and River came to the edge of the ramp to join them. "Look, I appreciate everythin' you done for me, Mal," Jayne said awkwardly. "I just can't stay here no more."

"Anytime you decide you want to come back, you-"

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."

Then there were farewells to be said and River surprised all of them by flinging herself into Jayne's arms, threatening the merc with severe reprisals if he didn't come back to them. Simon was noticeably absent, but then they'd all found out what had happened. He watched Jayne walk down the ramp, thinking on how much the man had changed since the first time he'd walked up it. Kaylee made a small, strangled sound as Jayne stepped off onto the dirt and the big man turned to look back up at her, eyes full of pain before he turned away and walked off. The sound of the little mechanic's sobs tore at Mal's heart and he felt like going to her but when he turned he saw that Inara had already done so, folding the younger woman in her arms to offer her comfort.

Even Wash was silent as he pressed the button that closed the ramp, and Zoë walked up to him slowly. "So, are we lookin' for a new hired gun?"

Mal sighed, wishing there were some way he could block out the sight of Kaylee's distraught face. "Let's leave it a while. He might reconsider before nightfall."

 

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Monty looked up in surprise as a shadow fell across his path. "I'll take that job," Jayne said shortly. Upon closer inspection of the other man's face, Monty decided not to question him.

"Get your gear stowed – we push off at 18:30."

"Sure thing…Captain."

 

tbc…  
___________________________________________________

 

*ducks thrown objects* Sorry...but I had to go there.

 


	14. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More than Friends - 14**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

____________________________________________

 

It was really as if two crewmates had left, instead of just one. Wash couldn't believe how empty the ship seemed without Jayne – there was always more than enough to eat these days, no rude and thoughtless comments being made at odd moments…but there was precious little laughter to be had. Kaylee seemed to be constantly on edge; it seemed as if anything and everything could set her off. Her face would crumple and she would start to cry at the slightest provocation...it was such a departure from her normal, sunny self that none of them really knew how to handle. On a ship the size of Serenity, there was no room for secrets of any kind so they all knew exactly what had happened. Wash sighed and slumped back in the pilot's chair. He couldn't blame Jayne for needing to leave, or Kaylee for needing him to stay; it was just one of those things where you couldn't blame one person for it. It was just a bad situation.

She hadn't said a word about it, but he knew quite well that she had expected him to come back by now – but it was going on two months now and they hadn't seen hide nor hair of the big guy. At the very least, they should have heard some 'scut on the stations about a huge man wearing a ridiculous hat…

He looked up with a smile as Zoë stuck her head in the door. "Hey, sailor…care to spend some time?"

"With you? Always."

Maybe he'd ask Monty about Jayne's whereabouts the next time they saw him. For now, he had more pleasant matters to think about.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Jayne sighed and rolled onto his back, puttin' his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling and thought about Kaylee. Why'd it all have to be so complicated? The loss of her felt like someone'd stolen a part of him away, an' he wanted nothin' more than to get it back. She'd wormed her way so deep under his skin that he didn't think he'd ever get her out. Wasn't even sure if'n he _wanted_ to get her out, but one thing was sure – she'd twisted him up inside but good. Seemed like every damned thing he saw or heard reminded him of her, an' it fair drove him up the wall that a man as old as he was still felt like cryin' like a gorram baby. Weren't natural, and not very man-like. Unsettlin', was what it was.

Monty was a fair boss, he supposed. Didn't ask questions he knew Jayne wouldn't answer, but he'd have to be a fool not to guess it was somethin' 'bout Serenity that made him leave in the first place. He got paid regular, and that was fine in Jayne's book. Not that he had anyone to spend it on now, an' he couldn't make himself go spend it on any whores. Mostly he just sent a third of his cut to his Ma, saved a third of it for ammo and the like, an' the rest he spent on gettin' as blind drunk as he could as long as they weren't on a job. The rest of the crew learned real quick to steer clear, even though on past runs they'd spent a whole mess of time together; they knew by now that he wanted to be left alone, an' he guessed he was grateful that none of 'em pushed for details though sometimes he kinda wished someone would ask.

Ma knew somethin' was wrong, but then ma's always knew when their own were in trouble. She wanted him to come home, said there weren't nothin' wrong that she couldn't fix, and he was sorely tempted. He hadn't been home in a while, an' it'd be nice to be somewhere where someone understood him at least a little. If he couldn't go to Kaylee, he s'posed his Ma was the next best thing. Well, after a fashion. She never let him forget that she'd always be there for him, but although he didn't need the reminder it was always good to hear. Ma had hinted that she might finally let him hook up a Cortex screen for her if he came to visit, which made him smile over how she always went on and on about "newfangled things" even though everyone else in town'd had one when he was still a young'un.

He wrote letters to Kaylee every night, knowin' he'd never send 'em to her. Made him feel like she was closer to him somehow – he'd tell her about his day an' what sort of crime he'd taken part in, as well as describin' parts of the engine they was flyin' with. The letters tellin' her about how much he missed her usually got crumpled up and tossed in the trash until the one day he saw Monty lookin' at him funny and he figured out that his new captain musta read one. He stopped writin' for a spell to throw the man off, then started back up an' just kept the papers hidden in the bag he kept his clothes in. Jayne didn't know why, but it was like he couldn't stop because if he did it would mean that wherever she was, she would know. She would know, an' decide on someone else…hell, for all he knew she already had.

"Cobb! Get your hairy ass out here, we're landin'," came the shout from the corridor. He shoved the latest half-written letter under his cot and glanced in the small, cracked mirror as he walked to the door. Kaylee would have a knicker fit if she could see him now, but then she'd never liked him with stubble…an' she'd always cut his hair if'n she thought it was too long. Right now, it was all over the ruttin' place. He couldn't help but grin at his reflection, thinkin' of what she'd say to him. _Land sakes alive, Jayne Cobb – you look more like Sasquatch than Zoë says Monty does! _ Jayne's good mood lasted all the way up to the bridge to do weapons check, when he looked out the front screen to see that they was landin' right near a mightily familiar lookin' firefly class ship.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

"Okay, people – shouldn't be too much of a fuss bein' made over the goods. We're just here to do a pick-up and then we're out," Mal warned them.

"Keep close and make sure none of the captain's ex-wives pop up out of nowhere," Zoë deadpanned, drawin' a glare from their captain. Kaylee felt the closest to a giggle she'd been ever since Jayne'd left 'em on Kerry. Now they was landin' on Highgate to pick up some hot equipment, an' it really did look a lot like the situation they'd been in when Saffron snuck on board the last time. "Although maybe Monty's learned by now not to trust strange women."

Kaylee summoned up a tired smile at the mention of Monty. "We love Monty," she commented dutifully.

"We wanna be off this moon just as soon as we can, so we'll need all hands," Mal called out as soon as they'd scouted out their portion of the goods. "Even you, lil' Kaylee." He pressed her shoulder as he walked past, and she sighed as she went to pull on her boots for dirtside work. Mal pointed out which ones that needed movin' and Kaylee pulled the Mule up, hoppin' down to start loadin'.

She'd almost finished, makin' a few trips back to the ship with Wash, when the pilot suddenly got a weird look on his face and said he had to go. "Go? Go where? I can't lift this by myself," she protested to his quickly disappearin' back. "Just shiny." Kaylee bent to get a better grip on the crate and was heavin' hard as she could when a pair of arms reached down past her and lifted it easy as could be. "Whu….?" She trailed off as Jayne turned back to her. "Thanks," she said lamely, then could've kicked herself. _Thanks? _

He just nodded. "All these need to go?"

" Yeah, I was gettin' em but…" she gestured over her shoulder. "…Wash just left so it's just me." _Talk to me; just say you're comin' back. _ "So, um, you're crewin' for Monty?"

Jayne started liftin' the crates onto the Mule, ignorin' her question until the last one was loaded. "Yeah, just for a while." Her hopes were shot down when he rolled his shoulders and looked back down at her. "Got me another job lined up."

Kaylee glanced over to where Monty, Mal and Zoë were talkin', watchin' the both of 'em in a way that let her know they was talkin' 'bout her and Jayne. "You think we can go somewhere to talk?" she asked hopefully.

"Don't think so, I got work to do." Even so, he stayed right there lookin' at her.

"You'd better get to it, then. I won't keep ya," she said, wantin' to just throw herself into his arms and have everything be like before it all went wrong.

Those blue eyes just kept watchin' her. "I will, an' you ain't."

She studied him by the glow of the ship lights. "Looks like you an' Monty are competin' for Zoë's title of Sasquatch," she finally blurted out, unable to help it.

Jayne's eyes got real bright for some reason an' he coughed into his hand. "Look, I got work," he reminded her.

"You said that," she agreed. "I got some work, too." Before she even knew what she was doin' she was movin' forward for him.

"Best not," he said quickly. "Might see you sometime." With that, he turned and loped back to his new crew and she was left fightin' back the tears once more.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Jayne's eyes stung with unwanted tears as he moved away from her, tryin' to stop himself from turnin' right back around to take her in his arms. _Ai ya_, she were even more _meili _than he remembered her to be. When he'd gotten himself under control enough to lift his face into the light, he nodded to Mal an' got the rest of his orders on where to stow the cargo. He turned at the top of the ramp, feelin' a guilty twinge as he saw Kaylee doin' the exact same thing. She'd seemed to still want him, at least a little…but he hadn't felt like he could ask somethin' like that. It was a gorram dirty trick Monty'd pulled on him, not tellin' him that they was loadin' at the same time Serenity was. He glared at his new captain and turned away to stack the crates for lift off – as he bent to move the first box, he missed seeing the papers Monty passed to Zoë.

The days went by quickly enough, with the nights filled with dreams of Kaylee – he was glad he'd gotten a single bunk at times like _that_, no matter how much teenier it was than the one he used to have. Even though there weren't hardly room for his own self, he desperately wanted to share what little space he had with her. Monty pulled some more nasty tricks on him, meetin' up with Mal an' makin' sure he was along for the ride – Mal would always bring Kaylee, an' he never knew quite what to say to her. Each time he tried to ask her if'n he could come back to her, his pride just wouldn't let the words come out even though that was the reason they were in this mess to begin with. After three more months of puttin' up with it, he was tired of the two captains tryin' to mess with him an' left for a welding job he was offered on Silverhold.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

It sure was a fine mess they were in, Mal thought to himself. Another hired gun had up and quit, like the position was cursed or something. He scowled down at the gun he was cleaning carefully, then looked back up to see Inara watching him with a bemused expression on her face. "Something funny?"

"Hmm? No, I was just thinking about something."

Mal set the gun down with a sigh. "I could use some amusin' thoughts if you don't mind sharing," he said pointedly.

Inara smiled and folded her hands beneath her chin as she watched him. "I was actually thinking about Kaylee and Jayne."

"If I ever thought that somethin' like _this_ would happen, would've told 'em they weren't allowed to bunk together. I'd like to knock both their heads together so one of 'em gets some bits of sense in their skulls." He thought back to the last run-in they'd had with the mercenary…he and Monty had planned a get together on Whitefall in the hopes that those two would come to what little senses they possessed, but he'd just watched as Kaylee and Jayne had gone apart to talk. Hadn't been but five minutes til Kaylee had turned away lookin' mightily upset, and Jayne had just settled for lookin' uncomfortable as she walked away from him. "Don't know what's wrong with them," he grumped.

Her smile widened. "Probably the exact same thing that was wrong with both of us. Give them time, they're just..."

"Acting like a pair of idjits in love for the first time," he complained.

"….because they _are_ a pair of idiots in love for the first time, Malcolm," she said pointedly. "Actually, I was thinking about the letters Jayne wrote to her."

"I didn't see any letters," Mal said. "You read 'em? I didn't even know Jayne could write."

She eyeballed him as if she was about to say somethin' not too nice about _him_. "Zoë gave them to me for safekeeping – and no, I'm not going to tell you where they are so don't ask – and I've been wondering whether or not to give them to her." She sat back in the chair, sighing. "I think it's best to just let Jayne tell her himself, but I don't know anymore."

"Couldn't hurt, now could it? Be nice to see somethin' even faintly resemblin' a smile on her face," Mal mused.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee curled up on the narrow bed, pullin' the balled up tee shirt close and inhalin' the faint scent that rose from it. She'd slept with it so often, she'd nearly sniffed the smell of gun powder an' oil right out of the fabric but until it started to smell more like her than Jayne, she'd keep it with her. At times she felt like burnin' the gorram thing, but she knew she'd be sorry after. _Damn that man to hell_, she thought angrily, sittin' up to throw the shirt across the bunk so it bounced off the fluffy pink party dress she had hung up. _What's his ruttin' problem? We don't hardly see each other at all no more after he threw a hissy at Monty an' Mal's settin' us up together, an' he don't wave or write me…. It's goin' on six months since he left, an' I should find myself a new man like he said I should. _ Kaylee flopped back down on the bed, wipin' at her eyes angrily. _Don't even know why I even cry for that stupid_ chun zi, _he don't seem to be missin'_ me _any. _

Well, that weren't exactly true. She'd seen the look on his face each time their eyes met, an' knew there was _somethin'_ still there for her. There had to be 'cause Tien help her, but she still loved him. Kaylee figured she loved him even more now she knew what she was missin'. _Lord, Jayne…I don't want no one else. _ If'n she could just talk to him, really _talk_, she'd tell him so. And then ask him if he still loved her.

A sound made her sit back up again in startlement, and she climbed up the ladder to open the hatch and look around. That was odd – weren't no one in the hall. Her eyes fell lastly on a pile of paper that was tucked right beside her door and reached out for it curiously. Looked like crumpled bits of….letters…to her? She felt her heart speedin' up and slid down the ladder to the light. _Oh, Tien, it's Jayne's writin'. _ "Dear Kaylee…" She sank back down on the bed to read, her hands shakin' so bad she could barely hold the paper still.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

He'd found out that if he worked hard enough, he didn't have so much time to think on what he didn't have…he just tried to get too tired to spare her a thought. Not like it ever worked, but he still tried. Bein' busy helped a bit, though. Jayne found himself a decent job at Silverhold's main shipyard, weldin' whatever needed it and with the pieces of go se that he'd seen land, he didn't think he'd ever be hurtin' for a job. He missed the black, but thought it might be for the best that he was land bound for a spell – he'd written back home, and Mattie had even promised to come visit. Was actually due in sometime durin' the next few days, so Jayne felt relieved at finally bein' able to talk about what was botherin' him… he hadn't wanted to write it down for some reason; just didn't feel right discussin' something like that in a letter and he felt that talkin' about it might help him figure out just what to do. 'Specially since he'd seen Serenity touch down last night an' saw that they'd filed an intent to stay for at least four days to refuel and whatnot.

Jayne finished weldin' a seam and sat back on his heels to flip up the protective visor – it was hotter'n all seven hells this time of year, and his clothes were just about stuck to his body with sweat. One of the local whores sauntered past, callin' out her price and eyein' him up like they always did when they were workin' the yard. Weeks past, he'd gone with one of 'em because he'd been feelin' a bit more needful than he was used to. His body had been willin' enough until he got out of his clothes and she got outta hers, and he'd even felt on her some. But then she had to open her mouth an' talk to him, and all he could think about was Kaylee an' the things she'd say to him when he was about to put it down on her, so he paid the whore and left to go start a fight. Since then, the rest of 'em had kept comin' round like he was some sort of challenge. He waved her away and put away the weldin' gear so he could head back to his quarters and shower before he tried to find Kaylee. Even if he couldn't get up enough courage to go talk to her, at least he could look at her some 'thout her knowin' it so he didn't have to worry about his heart bein' in his eyes while he watched her.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee tucked the oft-read pieces of paper underneath her pillow as she headed on up the ladder – they were due to have dinner off ship for once and since it was Wash's turn to cook, that meant that they were gonna get real food. River was smilin' at her happily when she closed her bunk hatch. "Hey, River – you ready to go?"

"I am, but are _you_ ready for what you'll find tonight?" the younger girl grinned, bouncing on her toes in a rare display of glee.

"I'm ready to find some food that ain't burned, that's for sure," Kaylee laughed back, linkin' arms with her friend and steerin' her towards the cargo bay to meet up with the rest of the crew. Their newest hired gun had already taken himself off somewhere, which was just fine in her book…the man wasn't much company and kept himself to himself.

She supposed she just didn't like him for havin' Jayne's old bunk, but still. Wash hadn't taken a shine to him either. Simon smiled at them when they came down the stairs laughin' at a joke River told her, and Kaylee smiled back. "Look at that, it's a smile," Wash called out. He looped one arm around her shoulders and one around Zoë's as he steered them down the ramp and kept up a stream of talk all the way to the place River had picked from browsin' the Cortex. One of her laces came untied and she dropped back behind the others, tellin' 'em that she'd catch up.

Kaylee knelt on the pavement to retie her boot lace quickly, but not quick enough to be able to stand up an' run when fingers closed about her arm. She shrieked as loud as she could, kickin' out hard and hearin' whoever it was grunt as she hit him. The hand let go, and she spun to renew her assault just as Jayne had taught her when she realized who it was who'd caught hold of her in the first place. "_Jayne? _'"

"Shiny t'see you too," he gasped, holdin' his side. "Was just wonderin' if'n you were okay, you stopped so sudden."

She touched apologetic fingers to his hand. "Yeah, my lace just got untied."

"Guess it's a good thing you ain't forgotten what I showed ya but gorram, Kaylee." He straightened up, still rubbin' his side. She looked up at him, just feastin' her eyes. He looked so _swai _and just so, _so_ good to her after all this time. The thought of the letters made her stomach jump a bit, and she wondered if now would finally be the time he quit his foolin' and came back to Serenity. She was still tryin' to wrap her brain about the fact that he was here, and his hair….! Kaylee'd never seen it so long, in his eyes an' all. For a wonder, it was even all curly and it looked like he was even bigger than he'd been since the last time she'd seen him. "You look mighty…nice tonight," he said, like he was embarrassed.

"And you, you look real good."

Jayne shuffled his feet like a little boy an' hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "There's a…place…over there, if'n you wanna talk or…"

"Okay," she blurted.

He looked surprised. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

 

tbc…  
______________________________________________________

A/N: Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'…?

 


	15. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 15**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

______________________________________________

 

Jayne couldn't believe his luck – he'd just meant to keep an eye on Kaylee, makin' sure she was safe. Now they were actually goin' somewhere to talk, which meant that she might still want him. He hoped she did; what was he gonna do if'n she decided to just keep goin' her own way and wanted him to continue goin' his? This had to be done just right, he told himself. "So, uh, how long you stayin'?" he asked, just like he hadn't checked their dock pass soon as he saw 'em land.

"Few more days, then we – oh, this it?" Kaylee looked around as he guided her into a bar. He'd picked it because it kinda reminded him of the Maidenhead on Beaumond, and it was a good spot to look over the new arrivals comin' from the yard. "Can we sit up there?" She pointed to the top level and looked up at him, all expectant-like.

"If'n you want, sure." He guessed it was a good thing he was slowly bein' able to talk around her, instead of just trippin' all over himself by not knowin' what to say. Now he just had to deal with findin' the _right_ words to say. She skipped on ahead of him up the stairs to find a table she liked, and that allowed him to just follow her real slow and look his fill. Gorram, but she was a fine one.

When Kaylee finally decided where she wanted to sit, he sat across from her as she threw herself in a seat like if'n she didn't run for it someone else would take the table. It made him smile, and she smiled back when she looked up an' caught him at it. "It's shiny to see that smile again," she said, wrigglin' in her seat and makin' it mighty hard for him not to just reach for her right then and there. Jayne signaled to one of the servers he knew and got Kaylee a menu, which she buried her face in immediately. "Lord, I'm hungry. Wash was gonna cook – and there ain't no way you've forgot how bad Wash cooks – but Cap'n said we was all gonna eat out together." She set the menu down with a startled look on her face. "I told 'em I'd catch up after I fixed my laces, they don't know where I'm at," she moaned. "Maybe I should just…" Kaylee looked from him to the entrance down below, not knowin' what she should do.

Alarm widened his eyes – she weren't gonna leave him so soon? "You ain't leavin', are ya?" He didn't even get a chance to say but ten words to her yet, and reached out a hand to cover hers on the table before he knew what he was doin'. "I mean, you just got here," he finished, his brain goin' all stupid from the look on her face as well as the feel of her hand under his. 'Cause he started to think on what all she used to do to him with those hands of hers, and how her skin had felt all soft, warm, and good when he'd – he shook his head to get rid of the images and pulled his hand back quickly. "I mean, you just…got here." _Yeah those are the proper words to tell her, you dumb sonova… _ "Just gimme some sake," he sighed out as the server came back.

Kaylee just smiled an' smiled, like she knew somehow that he was so hard it hurt. She propped her chin up on her hands, big brown eyes lookin' him over slowly. "You look real good, _wenshen_," she said softly. Her food and Jayne's liquor were placed in front of 'em right then as she was about to say somethin' else, and he glared up at the server who looked like she was just havin' the time of her gorram life. "You know each other?" Kaylee asked curiously, grabbin' her chopsticks and diggin' in.

He had a time not grinnin' at the way she was attackin' the noodles, and sipped his drink. "I come in here most days, is all. Nothin' much else to do after workin' in the yard on whatever ships need weldin'."

"So you already knew how long we was stayin'," she said, raisin' her eyebrows at him.

Jayne coughed. "Didn't know how else to start talkin' to you." Her eyes got all sparkly at him, so he guessed that meant he wasn't doin' too bad so far. He put his palm down on the table and slid it halfway across to her, real slow. "How've you been?"

Her hand came across, just as slow, so just their fingertips were touchin'. "I been worse before I got the letters."

"Letters? From who?" It felt real nice, bein' able to touch her even just a little. He felt the blood drain from his face when she hauled a mighty familiar lookin' piece of paper from her pocket and held it up. Gorramnit to _di yu! _ He was gonna flatten Monty the next time he saw the man. "But, those weren't…I didn't…they're not…" Aw, hell.

"You didn't write 'em?"

"Well, yeah I _did_, but that was…I ain't never thought Monty'd just _give_ 'em to ya like he did," he said helplessly.

"You weren't never gonna give to me your own self, Jayne Cobb?"

Uh oh. Kaylee's eyes was gettin' all narrow and everything that just meant bad things for him. "No. I mean, yes. I mean…gorrammit, he stole 'em from the trash!" She just gave him some sort of look an' went back to eating, pullin' her hand from the table and back to her lap. "So, uh, Mal hired someone new?" Now, what made him think that that was somethin' she wanted to talk on? _Real slick, Jayne. _

She finished her food and wiped her mouth before lookin' back up and answerin' the question. "We're on our seventh hired gun, actually. None of 'em wants ta stay around, for some reason."

"So Mal ain't exactly replaced me, is what you're sayin'?" Maybe, just _maybe…_

"Ain't nobody in the 'verse can replace you," Kaylee told him, stretchin' both hands over the table for him to take. "Jayne, I-"

"_Jayne Austin Cobb! _"

The wild yell made him look around, a smile breakin' across his face as he recognized Mattie's voice. "Can you hang on just for a bit? I'll be right back, I swear," he said hastily, standin' up to go down a level where Mattie leaped at him for a hug.

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

The words, "I love you" died on Kaylee's tongue as his name was yelled, and he left her to hurry down to the dark haired woman who was barrelin' up the stairs of the second level to get to Jayne. Hurt welled up in her, sharp and sudden when she saw the woman hurl herself into Jayne's arms and be greeted with a hug – Kaylee looked away when he leaned down to kiss her, and she grabbed at her lightweight jacket angrily. She couldn't believe what a fool she'd been, to think Jayne had waited for her and wanted to come back to be her man again. He'd tried to tell her about the letters, she realized; there was a good reason he'd tossed 'em out, after all. If he thought she would just stay and let herself be humiliated, he had another thing comin'. Maybe he'd even thought that he could get some touch for free, but then his new woman showed up…

She felt like she might sick up her dinner. _I gotta get outta here, I can't stay an' watch him with another woman, I just can't do nothin' of the sort, _ she thought desperately. Lord, he was even leadin' her back up to the table and she was startin' to smile, reachin' out a hand. "Kaylee, like ya t'meet-"

Kaylee turned sharply and went runnin' down the steps. "I gotta go, Mal's gonna be worried 'bout me."

"Kaylee? Kaylee, don't leave," Jayne called after her. She heard him tell his new gal that he'd be right back for her an' then he was runnin' after her, catchin' at her elbow as they got near the entrance. "Hey, what's goin' on? I just wanted you to meet my-"

She turned on him, suddenly so full of anger she couldn't see straight. "I can't believe you," she hissed. "Lurin' me back here like you wanted to get back up with me again, an' not sayin' a word when I'm embarassin' myself by talkin' on the letters, an' _then_ bringin' your new girl up ta meet me like that without even a warnin'! Now if'n you'll excuse me, I'll get out of your sorry life an' go back to mine!" Kaylee pulled free and whirled to leave.

Jayne grabbed her again. "My _new girl? _ Kaylee, that's just my…"

A server walked past her with a tray full of drinks, and she grabbed one to throw into his eyes. "You ruttin' _hun dan_, let _go_ of me!" She yanked her arm from his grip once more and walloped him hard across the face.

"Kaylee, _wait_….!"

She ran into the busy street, angry tears near blindin' her as she tried to make her way to where the rest of the crew was.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Jayne stared in disbelief as Kaylee ran from him, wipin' the sake from his eyes. "Oh, _no_," he moaned, rubbin' his hands over his face. "This can' t be happenin'…" A touch on his arm made him look down at his little sister, who was at his elbow demandin' an explanation. He cast one more helpless look at the door, then Mattie was pullin' him away from it and back up to their table.

"What in the 'verse is goin' on, Jayne? Weren't that the mechanic you were writin' about when you first joined up with that Reynolds fella?"

He sighed. "Yeah, that was Kaylee." The tea lights at their table had burned down into pools of wax when he finally finished explainin' what all had happened – Mattie was just starin' at him like he was the biggest _chou wan ba dan_ she'd ever seen. "…now she thinks you and me are sexin' each other, an' it looks like she don't never wanna see my face again," he finished.

Mattie stared at him some more. "_Ge ge_, you've gotta be the dumbest _wonang fei_ in the 'verse."

He buried his head in his hands. "Yeah…reckon so."

"You _know_, if'n you told her straight out in the first place this wouldn't be happenin' but since you're a gorram_ houzi de pigu_-"

Jayne lifted his head sharply to glare at her. "You done callin' me names yet, _mei mei?_ I can just toss you onto the next outgoin' ship," he threatened.

She just blinked and smiled, tossin' her hair. "Ma would get real mad atcha if'n you so much as tried." After a few minutes of glarin' at her, he had to smile – Mattie always could find a way to make him laugh, no matter how upset he got. It'd always been that way ever since she was a little'un and he was the one takin' care of her while their Ma got some sleep after a hard day at the factory…no matter that he was the oldest and she was the baby, they always told each other everything. It'd always been that way and he thought it probably always would be. She could sure be a brat sometimes, though. "You feelin' ta go after her?"

"Only thing that was stoppin' me in the first place was you," he reminded her. "Don't think it woulda made no difference, though. I ain't never seen her so het up before." Jayne sat back in the chair, draggin' his fingers through his hair in agitation. He winced as his fingers hit a snarl, which just made Mattie think it was funny that he hadn't cut his hair. "D'you think I should go try t'find her?" he asked helplessly. He wanted to go after Kaylee, to tell her that it was all just a stupid mistake, but did she really want to see him? Jayne brought a hand up to touch his cheek, where she'd smacked him. Sure didn't _feel_ like she wanted to see him ever again. "Lord, Mattie – I don't know what to do."

His little sister reached across to take his hands in hers – at least, what would fit because her hands were so teeny – and smiled up at him, shakin' her head. "She must be somethin' real special to get you so messed up, _ Long tou lao da_."

"Yeah." He thought of Kaylee's face, her sweetness, how she was always cheerful even when it was ruttin' irritating, how kind she was. "Yeah, she sure is."

"Maybe you can be around first thing in the mornin' when they fuel up – if they ain't done that already – an' it can look all accidental or somethin'." She was bouncin' in her chair, she was so excited about it. Didn't sound like the best plan Jayne'd ever heard of, but it was worth a shot. It was a hell of a lot better'n just givin' up, and maybe Kaylee would have calmed down enough to let him speak his piece.

Not like he had one, but still.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Mal sighed and shook his head when he saw Jayne appear at the end of the ramp, like he'd been waiting for a spell for the rest of 'em to wake up. The big merc showed no signs of getting ready to come up, so Mal went down to see what he wanted. "Mal," Jayne greeted with a nod.

The captain fought not to stare in startlement at the man's shaggy hair and general ragged appearance. "Jayne." He eyed the merc speculatively. "Somethin' I can be helping you with this fine mornin'?"

"Yeah…need ta see Kaylee, if'n she'll come out an' talk. We, uh, ran into each other last night and-"

"We heard all about it," Mal said coldly. "You got no call humiliatin' that girl so, and a whole lot of nerve to come callin' on her the next day." Kaylee had been near hysterical the previous night after her run-in with Jayne, and they hadn't known quite what to do. Now he was just asking to speak with her like it was a normal occurrence? Jayne had never been that rich in intelligence, but this took the cake.

Jayne sighed. "Mal, you don't understand-"

"No, I'm thinkin' that I do. Maybe all too well."

"Mal, I-"

"In fact, why don't you get along before she gets up? Don't want her to be-"

The big man lunged for him, grabbin' him by the collar and snarling in his face. "_ Daxiang baozhashi de laduzi! _ That was my gorram sister!" Jayne shook him hard enough to rattle his teeth and Mal was ready to go for his sidearm when the barrel of a gun was pressed to the infuriated merc's temple.

"Think you might want to let him go now, Jayne," Zoë said calmly.

Jayne released him with a hard shove that flung him against the side of the ramp, turning on his second angrily. "You know what? If'n you wanna shoot me so ruttin' bad you better go ahead an' do it now 'cause next time you put that in my face, I swear to Tien I'll make you regret it."

"Zoë," Mal said quietly. She lowered the gun reluctantly, still eyeing the angry man. "Jayne, what in the hell is wrong with you these days? And what in Buddha's name did you do to your hair?"

The other man sighed and turned to face him. "Look, you lettin' me talk to Kaylee or not? I got things to do today."

Mal glanced at the still-empty mouth of the ship, then back again. "You say that was your sister she got so upset at seein'?"

"Yeah, that was what I was tryin' to tell her last night when Mattie showed up." As suddenly as it had appeared, the anger drained out of the big man and he simply looked tired and heartsick.

He blinked. "Mattie is your sister?" Their mother must have had no shortage of odd names to label her critters with, Mal thought wonderingly. A boy named Jayne and a girl named Mattie? What the others must be named, he'd be interested to find out. He was about to speak again when a voice rang out.

"Cap'n, you want me to get goin' now or…" Kaylee trailed off as she caught sight of Jayne, who straightened up and cleared his throat nervously. "What d'you want?" she demanded, her voice goin' from sleepy to pissed in about 3 seconds flat.

"I'll leave you to it, then…Zoë?" they went up the ramp and Mal gave Kaylee a small shove down the ramp. "Talk to the man, _mei mei_," he suggested. Lord above, they really _were_ the two biggest idiots ever born. The sooner they worked it out, the sooner Serenity could have its mercenary back and the ship would run smoothly again. His hopes of returning normality began to die a slow, painful death when he heard the raised voices that meant that Jayne was simply being angry at gettin' slapped instead of explaining about his sister, and that Kaylee was gettin' fired up enough to smack him again.

"And you ain't never gotten up enough courage to tell me about what you done on Ariel," she was yellin' loud enough to wake the dead. Jayne's reply was lost as Wash came up to them to ask what was going on, then River joined them at the edge of the ramp to peer over curiously.

"He's going to get slapped again," the Reader said thoughtfully.

The crack of Kaylee's palm against the side of Jayne's face echoed sharply in the still air, and Mal stepped to one side to allow the furious mechanic to stomp past him and fling herself up the cargo bay steps so she could work off her temper in the engine room. Jayne just stood there staring after her in disbelief before he shook his head and slowly turned to leave. Mal sighed and watched him go. "Well, folks…let's get fueled up and on our way."

Zoë slipped a hand through the crook of Wash's elbow. "We need a reliable gun hand, Sir. Should we call him back?"

"Best not…be more trouble than we need right now. They'll either sort it out somehow or they won't."

 

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Why'd it all have to be so messed up? Kaylee curled up in her hammock, arms around her knees as she tried not to cry. If they'd just come out and told each other how they felt, none of this would've happened and they'd be here together right now. Only not together in the _hammock, _ Jayne was much too heavy for it. _Probably break it just by puttin' one hand on the ropes_, she thought, rememberin' the times when he'd threatened to get in it if she weren't payin' him enough attention. But that time was long past, and it didn't look like she'd ever pay him any more attention. _Serve the_ hun dan _right, too – how dare he show off his new girl to me an' then show up to make sure I weren't mad at him! Like I'm s'posed to show up at their gorram weddin' or somethin' like that_. "Like I'm supposed to wait for him to get sick of her an' then come runnin' when he crooks a finger!" She scoffed and kicked the side of the engine housing.

Kaylee knelt and ran an apologetic hand over the place her boot had struck. "I'm sorry," she told the engine. "It's just… He don't love _me _and I ain't supposed to love _him_ no more after all he's done. He never told me 'bout Ariel, either…oh, I knew about it. Was just waitin' to see if he'd tell me his own self and he's come awful close lotsa times." She sighed gustily and stood up. "And why'm I even talkin' to you? No offense, but it ain't like you can give me advice…maybe I should go see 'Nara. She's been waitin' all this time for me to come talk to her 'bout Jayne, but I just weren't feelin' like talkin' to no one." She'd wait 'til they were in the black again, she decided, but then she'd go see her friend. It'd been long enough.

She thought about Jayne while she helped Wash prep for take-off, wonderin' where the big man was as Serenity lifted from the Silverhold shipyard. She knew she weren't supposed to care, not anymore, but still…

Two days later they landed Serenity on St. Albans for another medicine run, which pretty much meant 'easy money'. Higgins, the hired gun, was actin' even more strange than usual but Kaylee paid him no mind as she checked over the Mule one last time before Mal scolded her for "fiddlin'" an' took off with the usual group of Zoë, Higgins, and River. On her way back up to the engine room to start takin' off the color codes she'd put up for Jayne, her comm unit beeped. "Musta forgotten somethin'." She shrugged and opened the channel.

"Kaylee?"

Of course, it _had_ to be Higgins…the man had been after her ever since he found out about Jayne when they was on Silverhold. It was kinda strange, how he'd taken interest all of a sudden, askin' her more questions than he'd ever done before… she'd had to tell him that she weren't interested, but he'd seemed to take it well enough. "Yeah, what's up? You lose somethin'?" His next words nearly made her drop the hand unit.

"It's, uh, the Mule. Something wrong with it, I think…we crashed. Captain's hurt, needs help."

"Is he…?"

"Just bring the doctor, will you?" Higgins snapped at her.

"We're on our way," she cried, breakin' the connection and runnin' to find Simon, yellin' up to the bridge. "Wash, we're takin' the spare shuttle," she called. "Mal's hurt."

Simon scrambled to get his gear together while she had a hurried conference with Wash. "I can just fly the ship over, they can't have gotten far," the pilot offered anxiously.

"Naw, we'll just use the shuttle – she's prepped an' ready to go, but I'll call on ya if'n we need more help." She glanced over at Simon, who nodded to show that he was ready. "Wish us luck," she called to Inara, runnin' off to the shuttle. Her hands were shaking as she went through the startup sequence, and she prayed that there weren't nothin' seriously wrong with Mal. Simon placed a supportive hand on her shoulder and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Okay, let's get to 'em, Dr. Tam."

She flew the shuttle to the coordinates Higgins had given, so preoccupied with worry that she hardly noticed when four Alliance craft flew from concealment to box her in. Her blood froze as she realized the trap they were caught in, and she reached for the comm panel to get a message to Wash before the Alliance ships could block the signal. "Wash, get outta here now, _dong ma? _ Higgins turned us in – don't let 'em take Serenity," she yelled. Kaylee didn't know if he'd heard her at all…static was all that answered her.

_ _ _ _ _ 

 

Wash rearranged his dinos for the tenth time and was just sitting back to scrutinize their placement when the radio came alive with intermittent bursts of static and nearly made him fall from his chair in shock. "...outta here…Higgins…us in…take Serenity…"

He grabbed the radio. "Kaylee? Kaylee, answer me – Kaylee!" Nothing. "Damn it, what's going on?" he yelled. What did the message mean? She'd sounded like she was surprised, but why should she be…? Something about Higgins. Wash hadn't trusted the man any farther than he could throw him, and from the size of the beer gut Higgins had, he wouldn't even be able to get him off the ground. He replayed the message in his head, thinking of possible meanings before he finally realized what must have happened.

"Inara? Would you mind coming up here? We've got to make a break for it," he called over the intercom, initiating the start sequence. Whoever Higgins had gone to, they had most likely been expecting Serenity to fly to the rescue and not the spare shuttle – that meant that they only had so much time to lift off to safety. Maybe he could overfly the area and scout out how many people had the others – he wasn't about to let them just capture Zoë without a fight, but he paled when he saw the Alliance ships coming at them. "Zoë, I'm so sorry," he breathed. They didn't have a chance against that many…he counted twenty troop carriers and at least fifteen smaller craft.

After some very intricate maneuvers, he'd shaken their pursuers and gone back the way they'd came at full burn – with luck, the Alliance wouldn't expect it and it would give them time to regroup and decide on the best course of action. But what could he do? He wasn't cut out for rescue operations, and he wasn't that sure Inara's status as registered Companion would be worth a damn once they were captured. She was currently trying to get in touch with some of her contacts, saying that one of her clients may have some news for them…Wash hoped she managed it, because how else were they supposed to…?

He sat up straight, the idea striking him like a thunderbolt. It wasn't fancy, and probably wouldn't work, but…it might. Reaching for his Cortex screen, Wash punched in a code. "Silverhold main dock," a bored young man yawned, idly fanning at a buzzing insect flying in his face.

Wash grinned. "I'm looking for Jayne Cobb."

 

tbc…

______________________________________________________

 

*knocks Jayne and Kaylee's heads together*

 

 


	16. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 16**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

______________________________________________

 

"Hey, Cobb!"

Jayne switched off the blowtorch and raised the faceplate of the welding mask. "Yeah?" he yelled back, lookin' over the railing at one of the yard messengers.

"Wave for you," the man called up, pointin' to the nearest terminal. Jayne lifted his hand in acknowledgement and set down the torch. Was probably just Mattie ready to harass him over messin' up with Kaylee again; she'd been buggin' him nonstop ever since. He thought she'd have a stroke when he told her he'd signed on to a transport last night, an' she still was pretty mad at him for it even though she understood that he had to get on the move once again. Couldn't stay here no more, that was for gorram sure.

He wiped an arm across his brow and set all his gear aside – Kaylee had gotten hurt the one time he didn't take care, so now he was always extra cautious with it no matter what. _Gorram it, lil' Kaylee…wish you was here with me now_. But he figured she didn't want nothin' to do with him by now, even if the others'd told her that Mattie was nothin' but his _mei mei_. They might have done, but somehow he didn't think so. He walked straight past the latest whore to try her luck and pressed his code in the Cortex screen. "Cobb, here." He was expectin' to see Mattie scowlin' at him fit to kill, but damned if it wasn't Wash.

"Jayne, am I glad to see you; they've all been taken by the Alliance and I need you to help us get-"

"Hang on a minute there, lil' man…I ain't helpin' with nothing." He reached for the "End" button, and Wash blurted out somethin' to do with their hired gun and Kaylee. "Yeah, that's cute, Wash. I got work needs doin'. Could care less that Kaylee's got herself someone else." He pressed the button and turned away disgustedly. Why'd he call him for _that? _ Like he'd wanna know 'bout his girl turnin' away from him? He stopped to think on in, and bit his lip at the unworthiness of the thought, feelin' guilty about just _thinkin'_ it. Kaylee weren't like that at all, to just shack up with someone else simply on account of her feelings bein' hurt…and he'd gotten a look at Arnie Higgins. Weren't no way in hell that she'd even _think_ about it, if any part of the praise she'd given him during their time together held any truth. Jayne walked back to the terminal and punched his code back in to return the call, feelin' that something wasn't right.

Wash's face appeared suddenly, lookin' surprised. "Oh, I was just putting the code back in to call you back-"

"Say it again, what you told me about Kaylee?" His jaw tightened as Wash gave him the whole story, and his fists clenched as he imagined them bein' around Higgins' fat neck. Gorramnit, but he was gonna kill that pile of trash if'n he so much as laid a finger on her… but how was he gonna get her, an' the rest of the crew, out from the Alliance base they was takin' 'em to? Not to mention the contract he'd signed off on last night, for three months service aboard a 386 Daison transport. Well, he figured he'd deal with that when he got to it – first he needed some way to get his girl out of harm's way. Because if'n she was anywhere near Simon and River, that meant them creepy men with blue hands was after 'em…and they didn't leave people alive to talk about 'em. "When you landin'?" he asked. Maybe there was somethin' he could do…might be a long shot, but better than nothin'.

Signin' off to make a call to Haven, he loped back to stow his gear and tell the foreman he was leavin'…then he left a message with the Daison's Second and got his tail back to Mattie. For a wonder, she thought it was gonna be the most fun they'd had since stealin' the neighbor's cat all them years ago, an' took off to send some waves after leavin' him with a few numbers of his own to try. If they were gonna do this, they had to do it right. No half-assed measures were gonna work with this much on the line…

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee drew in a deep breath as one of the soldiers nudged her with the barrel of his gun to urge her up the ramp to the Alliance ship. Off to the side, Higgins sneered at her. "Wouldna happened if you'd just said yes, girl. But you was too high 'n' mighty for the likes of me, weren'tcha?" He followed them aboard, laughing cruelly as River's screams of panic redoubled. She'd heard all about what had happened to the Alliance guards on Ariel when Jayne had turned in the Tams the first time, then tried to get them out…the first thought that had gone through her head was that Jayne had sold 'em out a second time, but she'd stopped that real quick. Weren't no way he'd do it again, even if he might still blame Simon for breakin' the two of them up – he had a better sense of what was right and Kaylee knew that despite his prior grumblings about River and her peculiar brand of behavior, he considered the young girl somethin' of a baby sister who drove him up the wall.

She prayed that Wash had gotten her message an' that he was on his way clear of this mess – weren't much he could do to help 'em, she didn't think. What _could_ he do, after all? _If'n we'd still had Jayne, he wouldn't'a let 'em take us. _ She caught Mal's eye and the captain tried to smile encouragingly at her – it was mightily hard to be cheerful, what with the way River was carryin' on. Simon was just real pale, and looked about as scared as she'd ever seen; she reached a hand over to his and he gripped it gratefully. They'd long since made their peace about what had happened in the infirmary that day, and had settled comfortably into bein' friends – truth to tell, she didn't know what she would've done without him to talk to once Jayne had left. "We'll get outta this somehow," she promised him impulsively.

Simon just looked at her with a hopeless look on his face. "I think our luck has finally run out." He glanced over at River, who was still struggling against her captors. "I just wish that they hadn't taken the rest of you with us. I'm sorry, Kaylee. I never meant…"

"I know, Simon. I know." Her fingers tightened around his an instant before they were ripped apart and a sullen-lookin' Purplebelly was puttin' some sort of shackles around their wrists. She heard Higgins gloatin' some more over at Mal and jerked away when he came over to reach a grubby hand to grab at her breast. "That ain't for you to touch," she hissed angrily.

He leaned in close so she couldn't miss the wave of carrion stink comin' from his mouth. "Better be nice to me, _saobi_…I might can getcha out if'n you decide ol' Arnie's better'n bein' shoved out the airlock."

"Never," she spat.

Higgins chuckled and reached for her again, this time grabbin' her and squeezin' hard enough to make her yell in pain. "You think your boy's gonna come for you? Don't think so, _saohuo_… what's his name, anyhow – Cobb, right? That big ugly son's gonna get his later – just told the commander his name an' where he is. Man can't weld 'thout use of his hands, little Kaylee." She gasped as he grabbed her again.

"Leave her be, Higgins – that wasn't part of the deal," her guard said suddenly, shiftin' nervously. "Don't hold with that sort of thing," he muttered as he moved Kaylee farther into the ship and into one of the cells that already held an extremely het up Mal.

"_Mei mei? _ He hurt you?" the captain asked sharply when he saw the way she winced as she sat down, her side brushin' against the cell wall.

She tucked her knees up under her chin, no matter how much it hurt as her legs brushed against her chest. "Ain't nothin' much. Look, I tried to get a message out to Wash soon as I saw – don't know if'n he got it, though."

Mal reached his bound hands over to touch his knuckles to the side of her face gently. "Knowin' Wash, he's got some damn fool thing planned."

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Wash thanked Mr. Universe for the maps, managing not to roll his eyes at the other man's gushes about his 'new wife'. "I appreciate it, and if there's anything we can ever do…" He signed off with a sigh and returned his attention to transmitting the landing codes to the shipyard at Silverhold. Jayne had said he had a plan… that in itself was nothing short of miraculous, if the man's association with Kaylee had finally made some of the long-dormant neurons in his brain start firing.

"I've got a girl who will be by in an hour with the supplies Jayne asked for," Inara informed him, swinging the co-pilot's seat around to face him. "Though why he wanted seven sets of clothing, I don't really understand. The sizes are completely wrong for Mal and the others."

Partial understanding came when Wash opened the hatch and saw Jayne standing there with his sister and five other men roughly the size of small elephants from Earth That Was. "You got what I asked for?" the shaggy-haired merc asked brusquely, signaling for the men to start loading the stack of ammo cases that were sitting to one side.

"Um, yeah...but who are-oh," Wash said in surprise as the first two men came past him and he saw the common stamp of shared genes on their features. "I take it these are your, um, _little_ brothers?" He wasn't so sure that Serenity could handle the weight of five men the same size as Jayne.

Jayne moved past him. "Put that over there," he called. "Gorrammit! Ehren, _no_ – over _there! _ We gotta haul ass outta here so get yours in ruttin' gear! Yeah, I got lucky they was all on leave together on Santo. Hey! Mattie, show that dumbass where to put those…" he strode off to the closest blue-eyed giant to help with the loading, and Wash retreated to the safety of the bridge to update Inara on their situation. Not to mention to warn her about the behemoths currently overrunning the ship.

They left Silverhold as soon as all the supplies were aboard, and Jayne left his siblings to check over the weapons as he came up to the bridge to outline his plan to rescue the others. After two hours, they had worked out contingency plans and obtained more charts and blueprints from Mr. Universe. _This is going to be interesting, _ Wash thought.

He just hoped that it would work.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Jayne set out his knives on one end of the table and began to sharpen them, keeping an eye out for Ehren. Boy was always gettin' into everything, if'n he weren't watched – somethin' like how Jayne had been when he was that age. Dhani and Kym were messin' in the kitchen, Aden was runnin' about wild somewhere, and Mattie had told him she was goin' to trim Sascha's hair. Course she threatened to shave _him_ bald if'n he didn't let her mess with his hair, but he figured he needed it cut so he didn't try to put her off. A call from the kitchen made him sigh inwardly. "So, you got captures of this girl of your'n?"

He kept polishing. "She ain't mine. Not no more."

Kym kept pushin'. "But you're gonna get her back. And you gotta have some captures so we can see her. Mattie said she was real cute…"

"We'll see, I do, an' she sure is." Jayne sighed and put the knife down on the table. "Look, can ya just hold it til we see how it goes? Ain't like I don't appreciate all you comin' to help, 'cause I do an' you know it."

His little brother grinned at him and came over to jog his elbow. "Ma's gonna kill you if'n you don't bring her home afore you get hitched."

Dhani chortled in agreement. "Yeah, she'll have your sorry hide strung up to dry – 'specially if you go plowin' and plantin' a field you ain't got the deed to!"

He shook a fist at the both of 'em and the fools went back to burnin' whatever they were trying to cook.

Gorram little brothers.

All the same, it was real nice to have his family around once more. Inara came in to speak with him about the plan, and they all started fallin' all over themselves to pull out a chair for her, just starin' like she was food and they were starvin' to death. He knew how they felt; he'd felt that way himself once. Weren't no one that riled him up like Kaylee, though, so he just smiled to watch 'em follow her around like a dog. Thinking on Kaylee killed the smile on his face and made him shift in his chair – if anything happened to her, he didn't know what he'd do. Long days and nights alone had just made him realize that he couldn't do without her; that girl was his whole 'verse. _Even if she don't want me back, please just let her be well_, he prayed silently to whoever was listening. Shepherd Book had given him the idea to save her – and the rest of 'em, but it was Kaylee he was most worried over – so it had to have a chance at workin' out.

Wouldn't be long now, since Wash had picked up the Purplebellies' trail and they were goin' full burn to catch up. "Hey, can we practice some more?" he asked Inara suddenly. "I gotta be sure it comes out right."

The Companion smiled and put her hand on his knee reassuringly, a touch he probably would've died for when he'd first come aboard. "Of course. Repeat after me…"

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

The Alliance transport docked several hours later at some sort of station and Mal touched Kaylee's face to wake her from where she was dozing, her head pillowed on his thigh, as their guards came back to escort them to their newest prison. He'd seen how carefully she'd lain down, and made him see red to know that Higgins had laid his hands on his mechanic – with any luck since they'd been allowed in a cell together, he could stay with her and make sure the man kept his distance. Mal had known that the man wasn't to be trusted from the start, but he hadn't quite figured on how badly he'd misjudged him. From what he gathered from Kaylee, Higgins had let her be until now because the _hundan_ had thought she was someone's property, and that if he touched her there might be consequences. Of course, when he'd found out that she'd cut Jayne loose back on Silverhold, he'd figured her to be easy prey. The fact that he'd gleaned the information about Simon and River when he was trying to gain her trust was just a bonus – but one he'd decided to use when Kaylee had rejected him.

Mal had no idea why Higgins had found that to be so unexpected; the pile of sludge had only three teeth, five strands of hair on his misshapen head, a pot belly, and was uglier than sin on a Sunday mornin'. The kind of man who'd try anything behind a person's back, but never to their face and never in any kind of fair fight. Right now, the only thing makin' Higgins as brave as he was being was the fact that he thought he'd be paid for his troubles…he'd yet to learn that a deal made with the Alliance was only of benefit to the Alliance and that they didn't part with their cashy money if they didn't have to. Mal wasn't too worried about what was going to happen to Higgins but even so, he was glad they didn't run into him on their way to be interrogated for what seemed like the sixtieth gorram time.

Questions were the same: did they know they were transporting fugitives, did they know just what kind of trouble they were in, did they know the penalty for… he really was running out of smart mouthed answers to all this. For a wonder, they were all put together in the same cell after they'd finished telling new people the same answers – well, except for River. Simon was pacin' something fierce and from what they already knew about his sister, none of them could really blame him. Zoë was about the only one sittin' calmly, like she knew something they didn't – Mal tried his best to relax outwardly and make like there was nothing to worry on, but truth to tell, he was a bit nervous about this whole mess. They all knew by now about the men with blue hands, and exactly how dead a man could get by crossin' 'em… so the question on Mal's mind was where they were and how long it would take for the men to show up.

They took turns napping through the night, but let Kaylee sleep as much as she could – Zoë had seen whatever hurt it was she was hidin' and Mal could almost feel sorry for Higgins if they ever got out and his Second ever got her hands on him. It seemed like it was forever before the guards surrounding the cell started to move about again, then they were herded out and down several levels and into an even smaller holding area with bars on all sides and no blank walls for any of them to get their backs against. A request to get their shackles unlocked was ignored, so he didn't press the issue even though his wrists ached from the pressure bands. They spent several more hours in silence while Simon resumed pacing before a returning officer alerted them to a change in their situation. "You, there," and he gestured to one of the guards. "Get the corridors cleared. They're here."

Kaylee sucked in a worried breath and drew her legs up to her chest again. "What's gonna happen to us, Cap'n?" she asked, soundin' impossibly young and plenty scared.

"I dunno, _bao bei_. I suppose we'll see in a bit." He tried to sound reassuring, but he was sure it came out wrong… he could hear the heavy tread of multiple boots coming from one of the walkways and knew that it wasn't just a simple changing of the guard. From where their cell was situated, he had a clear view of the six biggest Alliance officers he'd ever seen in his life walking from the catwalks that led to the lift platforms.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee instinctively tried to make herself as small as possible as she heard the men comin' for 'em. Mal and Zoë stiffened as they got closer and she didn't dare look up to see what they looked like, figurin' that she'd see who was come to kill 'em soon enough and she needn't get all het up about it before it was her time. _Oh, Jayne…I wish you was here with me now, to tell me not to be scared. I never_ did _tell you proper how much I love you, ya big... _

 

"Are they ready to be released to us?" a male voice asked. Lord, even the Alliance officers sounded a bit like Jayne now she was thinkin' on him. "I was told that there were five of them, as well – where is the other?" Simon made some sort of strange noise, and she glanced over at him but he was starin' at his shoes like he couldn't believe his eyes or somethin'. Another voice, not as deep, started askin' 'bout if they'd been fed rations, if they'd cooperated… her lips parted in surprise when her eyes focused on their boots – they weren't matched up. In fact, the ones nearest to her looked just like…like…

She looked up, and up, and up some more until her lyin' eyes were lookin' right at Jayne. All the curls he'd had on Silverhold were gone, cut real close to his head so that he looked like just some soldier – his face was clean shaven, too, but it was him. Oh, Tien, it was him. She opened her mouth without thought to call to him, make him look over at her, but a nudge from Zoë called her back to herself. Kaylee just sat and stared up at him, longin' for him to just look at her…just _once_ would be fine, but he was intent on talkin' to their jailor in some kind of fancy Core accent that sounded just plain odd comin' from his mouth. And his outfit…! She'd certainly never thought to see Jayne Cobb all fancied up in an Alliance outfit, that was for gorram sure. Looked like he had to be hunchin' his shoulders to keep from rippin' a seam.

Kaylee tried her best not to gape as she looked at the other five men with him – they all had the same haircuts an' uniforms and if they weren't his little brothers he'd told her about, she'd eat Badger's hat. She couldn't even hear what else was goin' on and spare the others a second thought, though… Jayne was all she could see. Even if he _had_ gone and found himself another girl, he'd come for her.

"Open the door, we'll take them from here…" Jayne trailed off as the monitors hangin' in the ceiling suddenly shorted out with a popping sound, and pulled his sidearm on the guard closest to him. The others had their guns out just as fast, and the remaining Alliance officer – the only real one in the room – held up his hands in surrender. "Get that ruttin' door open," Jayne hissed, slidin' the safety off. The man turned pure white and struggled with the key cards until he found the correct one and the cell door cycled open silently. "Heya, Mal. Heard you was in some trouble 'round these parts."

Mal grinned over at Zoë, who finally let a smile break over her face. "'Bout time you got your lazy _pi gu_ out here. Mind lettin' us out of these contraptions?"

Jayne sighed and shook his head regretfully. "We gotta leave 'em on 'til we get back to Serenity – Wash says he can get you outta them things." He still wasn't lookin' at her, but the others were and grinnin' fit to break their faces. "Sascha, you an' Kym scout ahead while we deal with these lumps of gos se. Stay with her," he ordered the youngest brother as he turned away to herd the guards into their cell.

"So, you're Kaylee? I'm Ehren," the young man said earnestly. "Boy, they sure wasn't lyin' when they said you was a looker – Mattie just couldn't say enough 'bout you. Your bands too tight? Might wanna wiggle your fingers about so's you don't lose no feelin' in 'em and you gotta cut your hands off – that's what Ma always says happens to prison folk." She blinked at the flood of words comin' from him an' cast a glance over at Jayne. Ehren caught her lookin' and sighed. "He's been actin' worse'n a horse who got into the sour apples; wouldn't even-"

"Ehren! Shut your mouth, she don't need to hear you yappin'," Jayne said suddenly. "Let's move." The mask of Alliance officer slid back over his face an' he walked 'em down the corridor, his hand on Mal's arm like he was steerin' him along. They got to the lifts an' had to split up because there was too many of 'em, and Ehren quickly urged her onto the platform beside Jayne and Mal.

They rode a few levels up in silence before Kaylee couldn't take it anymore and turned to him. "Jayne-"

He cut her off, still starin' straight ahead. "That was my sister. If'n you woulda stayed an' listened, that was what I was tryin' to tell ya."

She blinked. "Your…that was Mattie?"

"Ain't got no other sister but the one," he reminded her.

"Well, you shoulda said somethin'!"

"I weren't the one turned tail and scampered without listenin' to what I was sayin'," Jayne said, raisin' his voice as he started gettin' mad at her again before he stopped and thought of somethin'. "Hey….where's Moonbrain at?"

 

tbc…  
_________________________________________________

 

A/N: Looks like the rescue operation just got a bit more complicated…

 

 

 


	17. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 17**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** PG-15 for violence  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

 

A/N: I'm operating under the assumption that the blue hands' thingamajigs have to be aimed at someone to achieve the desired effect.  
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Jayne swore softly, motioning Ehren to watch over Kaylee while he stepped from the lift and went to find Simon. He couldn't believe that he'd completely forgotten about gettin' River; after all, that's why the rest of 'em were picked up by Alliance. "Hey, Doc – where's that sister of yours at? You seen where they took her?" he questioned, glancing around quickly to make sure nobody was starin'.

The young doctor swallowed hard, lookin' around wildly. "I…I don't know, they didn't tell me where…"

"'Salright, we'll find her – you think she'll come quiet-like, or 'm I gonna need a smoother or somethin'?" He looked around and motioned for Sascha to come forward. "You take 'em back to Serenity with Aden, don't talk to nobody…you remember what we worked out last night? Shiny. Take 'em…Dhani, you're with me." Jayne rested his eyes on Kaylee one last time, turnin' away just as she was opening her mouth to talk to him, and stepped back in the lift with Dhani on his heels. _Gorrammit, I thought they'd all be held in one spot. _

Dhani rubbed nervously at his crew cut, shiftin' as the lift dropped several levels. "Uh, Jayne? You know where we're goin'?"

"Nope."

"Oh." His brother cleared his throat and pretended to check his weapons, but Jayne knew he'd start to speak up soon enough – he hadn't raised the boy from a squallin' baby to not know when there was somethin' on his mind. "Jayne?"

"She ain't done nothin', Dhan. Well, there was that butcher's knife thing… but like it or not, girl's crew."

"And Kaylee's friends with her?"

Jayne frowned over at him. "Never you mind about Kaylee. She ain't my concern no more." _ Except for bein' enough of a concern that I rousted all you up to help me get her to safety_, he told himself guility. "And she ain't never been none of yours, so shut it." The lift stopped, and he motioned for Dhani to put his gun away as they walked out and up to an irritated looking officer. "We've been sent for River Tam," he announced, carefully tryin' to sound like Inara had taught him.

"You and everyone else – I'll tell you what I told the men in the suits; she's in lockdown two floors up and only a team of doctors has seen to her, as we were instructed to place her," the man sighed, wipin' absently at his nose which had started to bleed. A cold chill ran down Jayne's spine at the sight, and he just managed to nod his thanks before urgin' Dhani back on the lift. He hoped they weren't too late, but maybe they had some time to get to her…after all, if them blue handed folk were after her they'd probably wait longer to kill her or some such thing.

As soon as the lift opened once again, he stared around in shock – every single worker in the place was just layin' around and it looked like there weren't nowhere clean to step, there was so much blood. Dhani retched at the sight and smell of it, the coppery sharpness makin' Jayne rub at his suddenly itchin' nose. He wasn't surprised when he saw bright blood smeared on his knuckles, and immediately set Dhani to guard the lift. "Stay here an' don't let no one up, you hear me? Anyone comes at you, you drop 'em." He drew his sidearm and eased the throwin' knives in their sheaths, slidin' against the wall as he moved down to where he could hear faint screams.

He wiped more blood from his upper lip, wincin' at the pain in his ears as he got closer. _Gorram sick hundan's – can't even simply shoot someone dead, they gotta do whatever the di yu they're doin'. _He could understand torture for information, sure; everyone did that. These blue hands seemed to do it just for the hell of it, just like Niska liked to do. If only he'd just _thought_ about what he was doin', he woulda remembered that he shoulda got River out first, no matter what trouble Kaylee was in. _Ruttin' hell, but my head hurts. Even my eyes…_ The pressure eased suddenly just as the last scream echoed in the empty hallway, and Jayne rubbed the blood from his eyes in relief before he lifted his weapon – the Buhnder – and turned the corner to see one of the blue hands nudgin' the dead body of a nurse. And as quick as that, the man looked up and right at him. _Gos se. _ Jayne primed the rifle with a smooth movement and fired, droppin' to one knee just as the other man lifted some sort of stick thing towards him.

The blue hand man fell, lookin' surprised that he just got nailed 'twixt the eyes – well, there ain't much left of his face after the bullet hits him, but Jayne can imagine the look on it without too much trouble. The silence after the loud report of his gun seems too intense, and he fell into a crouch as he scanned the corridor for the other one. His nose started itchin' again, and he slipped free a knife as the blood started to drip onto his uniform. The only place that the other 'un can be is through the big door up ahead, and whoever was waitin' would have a clear shot at him through the glass – but if he didn't get his ass in gear and drop the other blue hand, he'd be joinin' the other dead bodies on the floor. The floor…. An idea hit him and he gritted his teeth as he threw himself on the floor in an army crawl towards the door, which has a small section of kickplates on the bottom of it. If he could just stay below them, the man might not see him comin'. _Times like this, I wish I weren't so gorram big. _ Jayne tried to ignore the feelin' of the warm blood as he crawled through the puddles of it and kicked away the outstretched hands of the dead nurse in his path. He suppressed a shudder as he looked over and saw her open eyes just starin' at him as the blood still seeped from 'em like tears.

At the door, he lifted his head just enough to see the blue hand man with River behind him – she didn't seem to be movin', was she dead or somethin'? _Nah, just saw her move a little. _ The pain stopped a second time as the man in the suit started towards the door, and Jayne lurched to his feet. Well, tried to. So much blood around made it slippery and he nearly fell as the man came runnin' out towards him with another of them stick things. He guessed it was just his lucky day when the man slipped too, and Jayne did his best to throw him onto the floor. They rolled around 'til he finally got a hold on the man – weren't easy with the _hundan_ tryin' to point the whatever-it-was at him – and both of 'em were totally covered in blood when Jayne got his hands about the man's neck and twisted as hard as he could. A sharp crack and the man slumped, wide-eyed and dead.

Jayne pushed to his feet, dizzy from the blood loss, and staggered into the room towards River. She had her arms over her head and was rockin' back and forth like she didn't know what was goin' on. "Hey, Moonbrain – we gotta go, c'mon," he urged, pullin' on an arm. She screamed and hit out at him, goin' right back to rocking. "Gorrammit, _move! _" he yelled, pullin' again. The sound of Dhani's yells made him hurry his decision on what to do with her, and he brought down the butt of the Buhnder down behind her ear as light as he could and still knock her out. Simon'd be spittin' mad, but he'd worry about that later. Sounded like reinforcements were on their way, an' he needed to get clear. Bending down to scoop her up, he hesitated and went back to the blue hand nearest him, riflin' the man's pockets and takin' all he found as well as both stick things. When he looked, he found that the men didn't have just plain blue hands – was some kinda suit under their clothes. The noise was gettin' closer and that meant he didn't have time to take that as well, so he just lifted River from the bed and made his way back to Dhani, who stood and stared at him. "What?" he snapped, forgetting about the gore that was clotting in his hair and soaking his clothing, staining his skin red. "We gotta git, so move your ass!"

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

The shuttle dropped away from the station with a sickening lurch, and Kaylee grabbed onto her seat as one of the Cobb brothers – Sascha, she thought it was – kicked on the boosters to get 'em clear while Aden fidgeted nervously. Beside her, Zoë and Mal were on the comm talkin' to Wash on a secured channel…Simon was just kinda huddled into a ball as he stared straight ahead. "He got to her, I know he did," she tried to reassure him.

"I hope so," Simon said quietly, turnin' to gaze through the screen. Kaylee turned to look with him – didn't seem right to seem happy while Jayne was still goin' after River, but she couldn't help the swell of love and pride in her heart that he'd been the one to realize she was gone and recognize that he had to go after her. That he'd come round to doin' what was right simply because it was the right thing to be done. She weren't sure where she stood in Jayne's eyes, but he'd thought enough of her to come runnin' when she needed him most – and she was ready to pick up where they'd left off, right before she'd had that fool notion of kissin' on Simon just to prove she'd moved on.

Tears welled in her eyes at the welcome sight of Serenity, lookin' just as beautiful as ever as they emerged from the nearby moon's shadow and circled about to land. "You must really like that bird," Kym commented from beyond her shyly. "You love Jayne that much?" Sascha hissed at him and he fell silent after a mumbled, "Y'all were wonderin' too, ain't like I was the only one…"

Kaylee looked down at her hands, then up at the brothers. Three pairs of blue eyes suddenly found other places to look as Mal took the controls and began to glide in to dock, but they slid back over to her when they thought she weren't lookin' no more. "Well, I don't 'xactly love him the same," she began, but was cut off by the loud hiss of the clamps engaging. Then the door cycled open and Wash's exuberant yell of, "Lambie Toes!" echoed through the cargo bay as he ran towards the shuttle. The married couple embraced without any thought of their audience, and even Inara came to greet Mal gladly…Kaylee felt her eyes burnin' that she weren't able to meet Jayne that way. Where was he?

They all emptied out into the cargo bay with Mal and Inara headin' off to the bridge, and the Cobbs all gathered around her an' Simon to wait for their big brother…she was about to sit when a yell rang out and the poundin' of boots up the stairs made her look around. "You get her or not? Kym, you getcher pi gu movin' and get her somethin' to eat, Alliance don't feed prisoners if'n they gotta pay to do so! Sascha, you go help Ehren get the gear from the engine room so she can have her place back, she don't wanna step over your nasty old socks…" the tirade abruptly ended as Mattie came into view and stopped. "Hi," she offered a bit shyly. "I'm Mattie."

Kaylee smiled back hesitantly, feelin' kinda embarrassed at ever thinkin' Mattie were somethin' more than just Jayne's _mei mei_ "I'm Kaylee." She took a deep breath and began to speak at the same time as Mattie. "Look, I'm sorry about before…"

"I never woulda run up to him like that if'n I knew…" They both started laughin', cause it_was_ plenty silly, and Mattie moved on up beside her to give her a hug. "I hope the both of y'all are gonna stop this whatever-it-is ya got goin' on – he really misses you, an' I know he loves you. I ain't never seen him so crazy 'bout a girl afore, I swear to Tien," Mattie said, grabbin' Kaylee's hands in both of hers. Eyes that were a fair match to Jayne's stared at her imploringly. "You gotta tell him to stop his _fei oo_ nonsense an' come back – he'll listen if'n we gotta tie him up or sit on him or somethin'."

"He's been talkin' 'bout me?" Kaylee leaned forward curiously, already feelin' like Mattie was a friend. They'd just met – well, officially – but it seemed like Mattie had the same quality Jayne had of puttin' her at ease.

"Well, it's more like what he _don't_ say, if'n you know what I mean? Though he talks 'bout you a lot – to me, anyway. None'a them other boys'd know love if'n it chased 'em through the mud an' sat on their heads, but me an' Jayne always tell each other stuff." Her blue eyes twinkled as she shook her dark curls from her face. "And lordy, does he got it bad for you. I say you need ta put that boy out of his misery an' slap a ring on his finger so he can't go nowhere else." Mattie rushed to apologize and say she'd no business bein' so familiar when Kaylee blinked in surprise, but a wide smile so like the one she loved to see on Jayne's face shone out when Kaylee impulsively leaned forward to give Mattie another hug.

She winced as the contact pressed on her injuries and Mattie looked at her, questionin'. "Oh, it ain't nothin' much," she lied, but had to wince again when her shirt brushed against her again. That made her think of Higgins…she hadn't seen the man since they were put in lockup – had he been paid for turnin' them over? Anger surged up in her sharply and she was fixin' to find Mal an' remind him about Higgins when Simon suddenly jumped to his feet, lookin' over to where Shuttle Two's door was. Kaylee realized that she'd missed the sound of the docking clamps fastenin' and she stood, heart hammerin' wildly at the thought of Jayne comin' back to her. Now she could finally tell him all she'd meant to, an' weren't nobody gonna stop her this time…

Dhani stuck his head through the door and yelled for Simon, who ran over with his med kit. Jayne's younger brother came through and tried to block Kaylee's view. "Think it's best if'n you wait, he ain't lookin' too shiny…Mattie?" he appealed to his little sister just as Kym came back with a plate of protein which he nearly spilled as he set it down and ran to help carry River from the shuttle. The blood drained from Kaylee's face as she saw the mess River's clothes were in, and Dhani tried to turn her away again. "It ain't hers, don't worry…"

"But that means it's Jayne's," she realized, and pushed hard at him to get past. Then she couldn't help but scream as she got her first look at Jayne as he stumbled from the shuttle – there didn't seem to be even an inch of him that weren't covered in blood, 'ceptin' for his eyes. "Jayne…?"

She couldn't even hardly tell it was him under all that gore, but the glare he gave all of 'em reassured her. "Gorrammit, get her outta here," he sighed, slammin' a hand down on the comm unit by the railing. "Wash, get us the _di yu_ away from this ruttin' place," Jayne yelled.

Kaylee came up to slip an arm around his waist, since it was plain to see that he weren't feelin' good. "Let's get you to see Simon, big 'un…ya ain't lookin' too shiny." She tugged on him to get him movin', but he protested tiredly that he still had somethin' to get from the shuttle. "I'm sure the boys can getcha whatever's in there," she reassured him, tryin' not to make a face at the smell of the blood soakin' into his uniform and leakin' onto her clothes as she steered him to the infirmary.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Simon looked up as Kaylee brought Jayne through the doors, the big man still protesting that he was fine and was just tired. He'd checked River for injuries and she seemed to be fine except for a small bruise on the back of one ear, but he'd know more when she woke. For now, he'd cleaned her up and she was curled up asleep on one of the beds, the sheet rising and falling gently.

He advised Kaylee to come back later, wanting to speak to Jayne alone first, and the mechanic nodded unwillingly and left to tend the engines as Simon picked up his scanner and approached the other man. "Is any of this yours?" he asked cautiously. Jayne certainly was a sight to behold – only a scrap of fabric between his shoulder blades remained the original blue instead of being dyed violet with blood and Tien knew what else.

"Some of it…ain't even from no proper weapon, either," Jayne sneered contemptuously, then stopped as if remembering something. "Them things they use, like back on, uh, Ariel? I stole 'em, thought they might be worth somethin'." He reached a red-stained hand into a pocket of the uniform and pulled two slender objects from it, dumping them on the stainless steel tray upon which were kept surgical implements. Simon bade the mercenary to keep still while he wiped as much of the blood from the other man's face so he could check for fresh blood loss. "Don't know if'n there's any more comin' out, but I got so much on me I couldn't rightly tell," Jayne admitted wearily.

Simon grimaced slightly at the signs of recent bleeding from the eye sockets – what kind of weapon did that kind of damage? He supposed it was a good thing that Jayne had had enough presence of mind to bring not only one, but two back with him for analysis…perhaps if he studied it enough he could work out a way to shield against the effects. "It looks as though you've simply lost enough blood to cause extreme fatigue, but we'll know for sure that the bleeding's stopped as soon as you get into the shower to wash the rest of this away. Get cleaned up, find something to eat, and then come back," he advised. As Jayne lurched to his feet to obey without arguing, which was a wonder in itself, Simon drew a deep breath and spoke again. "Thank you, for coming for us. I know it was Kaylee you were coming for, but all the same…thanks. You didn't have to go back for her," he said softly, motioning to the still-sleeping form of River.

Jayne lifted a hand to scratch at his blood-caked hair. "Uh, about that? I kinda had to pop her one so she'd let me get her out – weren't tryin' to kill her or nothin'," he said defensively. "Don't know what them blue hand men were tryin', but she just went all nuts when I got in there, is all."

"Once you get near to a mirror, you might have an idea of why she might be hesitant to let you within a ten foot radius," Simon said dryly.

He stopped and was about to open his mouth a second time to speak about the situation with Kaylee, but Jayne simply shrugged and turned away. "Don't reckon it matters no more," he said, surprising Simon once again. "'Less you decide to start kissin' on her again, then me an' you's gonna have somethin' to talk about…make sure you tell Moonbrain that she can't be after some revenge for me conkin' her on the head," the big man said as an afterthought as he left the infirmary.

Simon stared after him for a long moment – against all odds, it looked as if Jayne Cobb had finally made it thorough adolescence. A sleepily confused voice roused him from his reflections, and he turned with a tender smile for his little sister. "River? I'm right here, _mei mei_…you're safe now. You're home."

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

"Jayne, that you? We'll be headin' over in Shepherd's direction to stay at Haven for a spell since we ain't but a few hours out, and – _Holy Mother of God! _" Mal got his first look at him and despite feelin' like he was about to fall over, Jayne grinned at the captain's reaction.

"Shiny. Look, I really need to…" Jayne hooked a thumb in the direction of the shower room and Mal nodded vigorously in agreement, shooin' him off.

"You do that, then. You go do that right now."

Jayne slid the door open and made short work of pullin' the uniform off, turning the water up as hot as he could get it and he stepped in with a sigh of relief. Even with his stomach rumblin' fit to kill, he took his time gettin' clean – he'd caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and couldn't really blame the womenfolk for screamin' at first sight of him, though he'd been imaginin' a totally different reaction from Kaylee. _Aiya_, Kaylee. What was he gonna do now they was finally on the same ship an' she couldn't just smack him and run off where he couldn't follow? He'd need some privacy with her, so's they could talk without no one buttin' their heads in, and just now privacy was on thing Serenity didn't have with his family aboard. Maybe he'd have to wait til they got to Haven, then corner the girl somewhere on the ship…he only hoped that she wouldn't try to scamper off into the access panels like that one time he was chasin' her around – he weren't small enough to fit in there, no way no how.

When the water was finally runnin' clear and he smelled more like soap than Alliance innards, he toweled off and pulled on the pants he'd snagged from his pack while his stomach did its best to remind him that it hadn't been fed yet. Jayne scowled at himself in the mirror, rubbin' a hand along his jaw – just looked and felt odd, not havin' nothin' there like he was some gorram little boy. At least it didn't look like he was bleedin' no more. He kicked aside the bloodstained uniform and went in search of food; first thing he heard was a buncha gigglin' in the galley and he rounded the corner to see Mattie, Kaylee and Inara gathered around each other and whisperin' while all five of his little brothers tried their hardest to listen in. "What's goin' on?" he asked Aden who was about to fall off his stool, he was tryin' so hard to get his ears closer.

"Woman talk, I s'pose," his brother reassured him. "Coulda sworn they said somethin' about sexin', though."

Jayne snorted and grabbed a plate of whatever it was, headin' to the table with it. "You always think folk don't talk 'bout nothin' else…" he kept one eye on Kaylee as he inhaled the food – somethin' weren't exactly right with her, and he wasn't sure what it was. After he'd eaten three helpings and gained the awed attention of his brothers at the amount he was puttin' away, Kaylee suddenly realized he was there and came over. Not wantin' to be caught starin' at her like he was some kinda lovesick _chun zi,_ he looked down at his empty plate and wished he hadn't eaten it so fast – then he'd have an excuse not to look at her. The rest of 'em got real quiet, waitin' for him to say something to her - he grabbed at his nearby cup to drain the water inside it before he looked at her. "Thanks for the food," he said, knowing that she'd been the one to cook it for him.

She sat down next to him, puttin' one tiny hand near his. He ground his teeth and barely kept himself from reachin' over and coverin' her hand with his – damned if he was gonna put on a show for everyone. It was still so gorram quiet, a man could hear a shell drop on the floor. "You're welcome," Kaylee told him. _Aiya, _ why'd she have to look at him like that; all sweet an' meili… he was just about ready to just pull her into his arms and forget about everyone watchin' them, when she leaned across the table to get her mug of tea. Then the little look of discomfort on her face made him realize what it'd been about her that had him puzzled earlier. "Oh, it ain't nothin'," she said quickly when she looked back at him.

"What happened, what's…" he trailed off as he caught sight of purpling bruises at the edge of her top. Jayne forgot about bein' tired as rage spurted through his veins, and he reached out a finger to brush back the material slightly. "Who did this to ya?" he asked, so angry he could barely see straight.

His brothers set up an ugly murmur as Mattie leaned in to whisper what had happened and Kaylee pushed his hand away self-consciously, coverin' back up. "Higgins did, right when we was taken – he's off spendin' the bounty, I reckon…"

Jayne kicked back his chair and headed to his pile of gear in the hall. "No, he ain't. And he ain't gonna be spendin' nothin' never again," he snarled, snatchin' up his newest knife and headin' back to Shuttle Two with Mal and Zoë on his heels. He dimly heard Dhani explainin' about how they found Higgins tryin' to scamper with his coin as the Alliance reinforcements responded to the alarm that'd been set off, and he leaned in the shuttle to drag the trussed-up figure of the_ hundan_ who'd hurt his girl out onto the catwalk. Higgins was nearly out of his mind with terror as he finally recognized his captor and started to struggle, babblin' for forgiveness an' sayin' he hadn't meant nothin'. Too bad for the _ben tiansheng de yidui rou_ that he was fresh out of anything slightly resemblin' mercy.

 

tbc…  
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	18. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:**|   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 18**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** NC-17 (**!**)  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$

 

[](http://photobucket.com)

 

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When it was all over and done, Higgins was left curled into a ball and sobbing helplessly as three of the Cobbs cleared the airlock of all equipment while Jayne paced like a caged animal on the catwalk outside Shuttle Two. Mal had thought it mighty fine of the man to allow him first crack at the double-crossing _hundan_, especially after it became apparent how enraged Jayne had been at the discovery of Kaylee's mistreatment…he had high hopes of the couple's reconciliation once they touched down on Haven, which was now only half an hour away. He had more experience than most men about the troubles of love, but appreciated the fact that the entire crew as well as the presence of his family was keepin' the big man from speaking to Kaylee and keepin' her away from him, though she seemed to be building a friendship with Mattie and the others. Girl always had a knack for makin' friends, he thought with a smile that slipped from his face when Aden ducked through the hatch and called out to Jayne. "We're ready if'n you are."

Higgins let out a loud wail as Jayne reached down to grab his collar, dragging him along behind and purposefully making it as painful as possible. Zoë had left shortly after Jayne had begun to take out his anger on the other man and had taken Kaylee off with her, sayin' that the mechanic had no need to see Jayne like that. Truth be told, it'd even made Mal nervous to watch it…he'd never seen the merc so focused on causing pain, though he couldn't deny that the traitor deserved every bit of it. He doubted he'd ever seen anyone get beaten so bad and still keep breathin', but Jayne had the knack of it and Mal made a mental note to never piss the man off that badly.

Jayne hurled the bruised and bloody Higgins over the door seal, calling for Kaylee who poked her head into the corridor cautiously. "You want a crack at him afore I toss him outside?"

Her jaw worked soundlessly, anger fillin' her brown eyes as she stared down at Higgins who had the daring to reach up, beggin' for mercy. "Think you're askin' the wrong person," she hissed down at him before looking up at Jayne. "There any place he ain't been hit yet?" Mal looked away as Jayne murmured something to her and she stalked up to the man who'd sold them all out to the Alliance; the heavy thump of a boot connecting to clothed flesh and Higgins' inarticulate gargle of pain told Mal exactly where she'd placed her hit. "Shove 'im outside," she said, her voice tremblin' as she backed up to bulkhead and crossed her arms over her chest. Mattie came up to put an arm around her that she shrugged off quick, her body all a-tremble as Jayne resumed dragging Higgins back to the airlock.

Ehren was quickly sent away but Kym and Sascha stayed put to watch, their blue eyes gleamin' with vicious pleasure that Higgins would shortly get his reward; all the Cobbs (the new ones, anyhow) had taken immediately to Kaylee, thinkin' of her as another sister. "You got any problems with me dealin' with him, or do you wanna deal with him?" Jayne asked suddenly as he reached into a pocket for something and palmed the airlock door button open. He moved back in disgust as Higgins wet himself, shaking the man's neck so hard with one big hand that Mal could hear a faint popping sound.

"Looks like you can handle this yourself," the captain said, trying not to sound too alarmed when Jayne's other hand emerged from his pocket holding a grenade.

The mercenary dragged Higgins onto the lip of the airlock's door seal. "Open your mouth," he instructed, holding up the grenade as if it were an apple or some such thing and simply forcing the frantic man's mouth open when Higgins shook his head from side to side in refusal. Jayne held up the grenade before the man's eyes, keeping one hand squeezing his jaw in a grip that was clearly painful. "See this?" he pulled the pin and inserted it into Higgins' mouth, closing the man's jaw and pinching his lips shut. "Keep your ruttin' mouth shut an' it ain't gonna go off. You might just freeze to death out there…or you could open that mouth a'yours just like you did when you messed with my girl, an' get your worthless head blown off. Your choice." Standing, he kicked Higgins squarely in the chest and knocked him into the airlock before punching the button that started the outer door cycling open. The inner door hissed shut, the clamps engaging to keep the pressure from droppin', and Jayne stood quietly to watch as Higgins was sucked out into the black.

They all started to walk back up to the bridge when the shock of the explosion rocked Serenity slightly, and Wash's yell of alarm echoed in the corridors. "Mal? What's going on, what was that? I just….oh my god, a body just hit the screen and- wait a minute, was that Higgins?" he finished in a shocked voice.

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Jayne walked in silence back up to where Kaylee waited, arms wrapped around herself and shiverin' as she watched him come up to her. "He gone?" she asked harshly.

He reached out and rubbed his hands up and down her arms to help warm her. "Yeah, he ain't gonna be botherin' anyone no more. You gonna be okay?" he asked, lookin' down at her. She gave him a brave little smile and he lifted a hand to cup the side of her face – she leaned into the caress, rubbin' her cheek against his palm and _gorrammit_, it made him want to kiss her right in front of everyone. He had to tell himself that soon as they landed on Haven, he'd chase the rest of 'em off so he could talk to her; as it was, they were all hangin' around lookin' like it was all their gorram birthdays and ruttin' Festivus rolled into one.

"Think so," she said all soft, lookin' up at him with those big eyes…

He swallowed hard and let go of her. "Well, then. That's, uh, shiny." He took off with Mattie hot on his heels, scowlin' at him. "_What? _"

"Whyn't ya tell her how you feel? Gorram, _ge ge_ – you gotta be the dumbest ox in the entire 'verse an' I just…"

"…gotta be stickin' your teeny lil' head in where it don't belong! I ain't puttin' on no show for y'all," Jayne yelled back, then felt like a _chou wang ba dan_ when Mattie's eyes widened and her lower lip pushed out like she was fixin' to start wailin'. "Aw, c'mon…don't be cryin'," he said desperately.

He sighed and rolled his eyes when Mattie snickered and gave him a big smile. "Lord, ya fall for it every time," she giggled. "Wash says we're landin', so hang on ta somethin'." Then she went skippin' off and Jayne just shook his head before bracing himself against the bulkhead with one hand as the ship started rattlin' when they dropped through Haven's atmo. Stabilizer was probably outta whack, he thought idly as he lifted an arm to sniff it cautiously…wouldn't do to smell like a ruttin' garbage heap when he was tryin' to get close to Kaylee again, so he waited until Wash leveled 'em out before droppin' into the bunk that used to be his to wash up and change his shirt, which had some of Higgins' blood on it.

Shepherd Book was waitin' in the mine shaft like always and had a smile ready for all of 'em, though his eyes got a bit big at the sight of Jayne's family amblin' down the ramp so Jayne quickly introduced his sister and brothers to his friend, with a quiet word of thanks for Book. "Couldn't've got 'em out 'thout your help, Preacher Man."

Book looked up at him with a slight smile. "Oh, I'm sure you would have found a way to rescue Kaylee."

Jayne was taken aback. "But I ain't never said nothin' 'bout-"

The older man patted his shoulder before turning to greet Mal. "You didn't have to, son. Come to rest a spell, Captain?"

"For a bit; we've got the coin to pay, so no worries…"

Jayne ceased to listen as he looked around for Kaylee, who was fiddlin' with somethin' back up on the ship, and walked back up the ramp slowly to stop in front of her. "Um, Kaylee? I gotta go introduce Mattie an' the others but I was thinkin' that after, maybe we could...?"

She brushed a lock of hair from her eyes and looked up at him, bitin' her lip. "Yeah, sure." She didn't look too happy 'bout it, he thought worriedly as he nodded and left.

He tried not to rush through the introductions, but the feelin' that had settled into his stomach was near to drivin' him crazy. _Somethin' else is gonna go wrong, I just know it. Ah, Tien…what if she don't want me no more? _ Help came from an unexpected source as Zoë tapped his arm. "I think you've got a girl to go talk to; I'll make sure they don't get into anything hazardous," she said with a smile, and then gave him a shove. "Go." He opened his mouth to thank her, but she gave him the look that made him shut up and do as he was told.

Kaylee was off by herself when he found her, sittin' at a table and starin' into her cup of ale. "Well, I s'pose we should get this over with," she said sadly.

"What?" he asked, alarmed. "What's that s'posed to mean? Kaylee?" He put a hand under her elbow and steered her onto one of the paths through the woods beside the main settlement. "Let's go through here… ain't as much folk hangin' about to listen in." When he judged that they'd gotten far enough away from any snoops, he dropped down onto a nearby tree stump. "What's on your mind, Kaywinnit Lee?" he asked softly, prayin' that she weren't gonna give him the boot for good.

She paced back and forth in front of him, lookin' down. "Jayne, I just…. What's goin' on with us? We used to be – and it was-" she stopped and faced him, takin' a deep breath. "Each time I think 'bout you, it's like I can't stop wantin' you near…but when I see ya, somethin' just goes _wrong_ so I don't say what I want an' I never know what you're thinkin' on." She started cryin', but moved back when Jayne tried to reach for her hand. "I'd give just about anything to get ya back, but I don't know if'n you want to so I don't know what to say 'ceptin' that I love you an' I should have spoken on it right away an' I'm sorry I didn't." She dropped her head with a sniffle. "D'you think you could ever begin to love me again?"

_Well, I ain't never heard **nothin' **so crazy_. Jayne lifted a hand so the tips of his fingers brushed against hers. "_Begin_ to love you? Oh, baby girl… I ain't never stopped."

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee felt the breath leave her lungs with a _whoosh_ as his words registered, and she looked up into his eyes…oh, Tien – he weren't lyin'.

"_Bao bei_? Get your sweet self on over here…my arms been too long without ya." He hooked his fingertips around hers, tuggin' gently, and then she was in his arms. _Wode Tian_, it felt so good… she burrowed her face into the warm curve of his neck, breathin' in his scent and exhalin' all the tears she'd tried to keep inside while he'd been gone. Jayne pulled her onto his lap, big hands smoothin' over her as he cuddled her close. "I love you so gorram much, _xin gan_…so, so much. I can't do without you," he murmured, voice thick with emotion.

Her hands grasped at the fabric of his shirt, her fists opening and closing helplessly as she sobbed into Jayne's neck –the tremblin' of his arms as he held her let her know that he felt the same way. When she'd cried herself out, he shifted her on his lap so he could kiss her tears away; she tilted her face up to him, feelin' like each brush of his lips across her skin put her heart back together piece by piece until she was able to open her eyes an' look at him. "Love you," she whispered, bringin' her hands up to trace her fingertips over his face. His arms tightened around her even more as he pulled her close again to rock her, tuckin' her head under his chin – Kaylee closed her eyes and listened to the slow beating of his heart in that powerful chest, joy welling up sharp and threatenin' to spill over into tears again. When he loosened his hold enough to duck his head and nuzzle her, she looped an arm around his neck and wriggled about to resettle herself on his lap before she pushed her fingers through his hair – well, what there was left of it after he'd hacked it off – and pulled him down. "Kiss me," she ordered.

The sensation of his shadow beard rubbin' against her tickled as he smiled against her lips. "Yes'm." Then he was kissin' her so thoroughly she couldn't hardly remember her own name – she moaned into his mouth when his tongue started teasin' hers with that flickin' thing he did so ruttin' well, an' then he was sucking on her bottom lip, lickin' at the corners of her mouth… She molded herself to him as they kissed with greater urgency, hands startin' to stray. "Kaylee," he rasped, holdin' her away from him with his chest heavin'. Even with only the moon shinin' down on 'em, she could see the look in his eyes – truth was, she weren't much better than he was. "_Bao bei_, can we…?"

"You wanna right here?" She whimpered as he tilted her head back so he could lick from her collarbone to the tip of her chin. "Don't think I can wait no more…"

Jayne pressed his lips against her throat, nippin' at the sensitive skin lightly before he drew back. "Still too close…'sides, I been dreamin' of havin' you under me all this time – don't want no one else around," he panted. "I can get us through camp back to Serenity, whatcha think?"

The prospect of bein' all alone with her man in her bunk sounded just fine to her, and she said so. She guessed she could wait just a bit longer, though it was near to killin' her. Besides, her bunk had lights an' she wanted to see all that she'd been missin'. He set her on her feet and got to his, though he ducked back down to kiss her again in a way that had her rarin' to go and they had to break apart 'fore things got too wild – she leaned against his chest to catch her breath before he caught her hand and started to lead her back to Serenity where they could enjoy true privacy. The miners were havin' what looked like a real shiny party and time was when she'd've wanted to join in immediately, but she just grinned up at Jayne. _We got our own party to be celebratin'. _

They made it to Serenity without no one seein' 'em, just like Jayne'd promised and she was fit to burst by the time he closed up the hold, her hands shakin' as she keyed in the code for her bunk. Kaylee wasn't sure how she made it down the ladder, but the sound of the hatch closin' had never been sweeter to her ears as Jayne slammed it shut and reached for her. "Nuh-_uh_, boy – lose that shirt first," she warned, then stared wide-eyed in amazement as he pulled it off over his head quickly. All that time weldin' on Silverhold and liftin' whatever it was he'd been liftin' had given him even more muscle than he'd had before – he was gorram _huge_. "Lord, what they been feedin' you?" she asked, awe coloring her tone as she reached up to feel at him before frowning slightly. "You ain't been keepin' shaved, though."

Jayne laughed and pulled her into his arms. "You got me here half nekkid an' you're complainin' 'bout my gorram chest hair?"

She giggled. "Sorry." Her breath caught in her throat as one of his hands started to slide beneath her shirt again, the other goin' between them to undo his belt and unzip his fly as he kicked off his boots. Kaylee eagerly helped push his pants from his hips as Jayne urged her back to the bed, his hands workin' at her clothes.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Jayne stepped from the fabric 'round his ankles, pullin' at her top – he couldn't wait to get her bare so he could kiss every sweet inch of her body. His urgency died back abruptly when her shirt came off and he saw the bruises she'd gotten from Higgins, feelin' like a_ hundan_ for not rememberin' she might not like him pawin' at her while she was hurt. "Oh, _qin ai de_, did I hurt ya? Didn't mean to, I just forgot," he said, ashamed. Anger filled him and he wished he hadn't made it so easy on Higgins – made him see red that anyone would want to hurt her.

"_Bao bei, _ it's fine…as long as ya don't grab too hard, it don' t hurt," she protested, tryin' to grab at him.

He could see the desperation in her eyes tellin' him how much she needed him…he'd been almost too far gone to be cautious, but Jayne was glad he'd realized that he needed to take care – he coulda hurt her worse. "Don't worry, baby girl; I'll treat ya proper," he promised, helpin' her down on the bed and slidin' her boots and coveralls off. His _diao_ sure took notice of how fine she looked, all bare and wrigglin' about on the blankets with her legs wide and welcomin'. Kaylee pushed herself to her elbows, starin' at him like she hadn't never seen him nekkid before and beggin' real low an' sweet… he ran his eyes over her, reachin' down to palm his cock and stroke while he admired how _meili_ his girl was. He stretched out over her and began to brush his lips over her skin, plannin' to make this last as long as he could. Of course, she didn't help none by feelin' on him and whisperin' how much she loved him… his eyes just about rolled up into his head when she cupped his balls and tugged gently, just how he liked it, but he moved her hand to less dangerous territory. "Plenty'a time for that later," he murmured. "Just lay back an' let me take care of you now."

He kissed his way over her face, emotion wellin' up inside as she started cryin' silently – he knew how she felt. Oh, did he know. She tilted her head back as he nuzzled at her neck, movin' down to place his lips carefully on her bruises and kissing down her belly to rub his cheek against the little strip of hair at the junction of her legs before kissin' her there. Kaylee was makin' soft little noises that sent a hook straight down into his nethers, but he kept up the slow pace he'd set all the way down both of her legs before flippin' her over. His hands stroked her skin as he moved back up her body, placin' a kiss on the tattoo on her lower back before he couldn't take no more and rolled her over again to seal his mouth over hers hungrily and nudge her legs wider apart with one of his knees. "Jayne, _please_," she sobbed frantically, buckin' against him.

"I got ya, _bao bei_…don't worry." Jayne reached down to grab his jiba at the root, then rubbed himself over her entrance while she shook and gasped; a few more rubs against her and she was screamin' out his name and Tien, he'd missed hearin' her holler like that. He grasped her hips to tilt 'em just enough so he could push inside as she was still squealin'… her cries just got louder as he slid into her slowly, bitin' his lip at how tight an' hot she was. "_Wo ai ni, _ Kaylee…you… so… _ cao_," he swore as her muscles started clenchin' around him.

Hell, there was no ruttin' way he could hold back any longer – he'd give it to her slow an' sweet later. Just now, he just needed to bury his cock in her as hard and as fast as he could; the bed slammed against the wall as he put it on her and she clawed at his back to urge him on, her voice risin' up into a wail. "Jayne, I – ohhhhh, I…yes, yes _yesyesyes - Jayyyyyyyyyyne! _" Her inner muscles clamped down hard just as he stiffened above her and thrust frantically before he threw his head back with a roar, grabbin' her hips as he filled her belly with his seed. He collapsed onto her, breathin' hard and shudderin' like a fly stung horse as she stroked his back and sides with her small hands. Lord, he never wanted to move again…. "Baby? Baby, you're kinda squishin' me," she whispered in his ear.

"Sorry," he sighed, rollin' off to one side. Kaylee made a sound of protest when he slipped from the warmth of her body, so he guided one of her legs over his hip and reached down to fit himself back inside before pullin' her closer. "_Wode Tian, _ but you make me crazy," he muttered into her hair.

She giggled and peeked up at him. "You do a fair job at that your own swai self and I just – oh! Already? I know it's been awhile but God A'_mighty_, Jayne Cobb!"

"Ain't like I can help it," he protested, tumblin' her over onto her back again so that they stayed connected. "We got us some time to make up for, Kaylee girl."

"Oh, well when ya put it like _that_…."

After their second mightily satisfyin' tussle she lay on his chest as he stroked her back lovingly, unable to believe that they'd wasted so much time when they could've been here doin' this. Jayne rubbed his head back into the pillows, sighin' contentedly when the sudden rumble of her stomach was echoed by his, and they both laughed. "I guess we better show our faces out there; I saw food," he said, reluctantly sittin' up. Kaylee giggled at him again when his John Thomas started noticin' her again, and he grinned ruefully. "Figures he wants another round when I don't hardly got enough energy to do nothin' 'bout it."

"Well, we still got food aboard Serenity," she tempted with a wink.

"Let's get to it, then." Rollin' out of bed, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up the ladder.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee laughed again as he towed her behind him in search of food, still mother-naked. "Hope no one comes along to get somethin', they might just pass out from seein' us runnin' about nekkid," she said, slappin' her man's _pi gu_ playfully.

"I don't give a rut _what_ they see," Jayne announced, reachin' into a locker to pull out a protein pack. "Gorram, this all ya got? Not like I'll be takin' my time with it, but still…think this was here afore I came aboard the first time." He shrugged and tossed it into the heating unit, turnin' to eye her appreciatively as she perched on the counter beside him. Kaylee held out her arms to him and he walked into 'em, nuzzlin' her sweetly. "I love you," he murmured, the words makin' her cling even tighter.

"I love _you_," she whispered back, snugglin' against his chest to close her eyes and enjoy the feel of his arms around her. The heating unit _ding_ed, but he made no move to let go so she didn't, either. "Food's ready."

He snuffled against her hair. "Mmm-hmm."

"You gonna get it out?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Sometime soon so's we can eat?"

"Nnnnnngh," he complained, makin' her giggle and push at his chest. "Okay, okay… I'm gettin' it…." He pretended to pout as he pulled the pack from the unit and rummaged around for a plate to dump it on before he set it on the counter and jumped up lightly to settle himself cross-legged in front of her. "Don't tell Mal we was nekkid on the counter; he'll never come in here again," he snorted.

She leaned forward as he held out the fork to her, feedin' her like he'd done so long ago when she'd hurt her hands. Jayne practically inhaled his half of the food as they took turns eatin', so she teased him by takin' her time and lickin' her lips. She had no idea what the _di yu_ they were actually eatin', and didn't really care… by the time the plate was clean, she was leanin' forward and slippin' a hand in his lap to stroke him back to attention. Not like he weren't already rarin' to have another go at her, she thought with pride. He tossed the plate aside and lifted her onto his lap as he stretched his legs out, holdin' her in place as she reached down to direct him inside her _ni yin_. Then she leaned back and braced her hands on the edge of the counter, pushin' down onto him while he pushed back up. Her moaned demands for "faster" were met with a goodly amount of obedient enthusiasm, and she quickly shuddered into a toe-curlin' orgasm as he pumped into her.

"_Aiya_, baby girl – you're fixin' to kill me," he teased. "Think I'll be sleepin' real good tonight." Jayne helped her off the counter and wiped a rag over it quickly, sayin' that he just _knew_ River would say somethin' if'n he didn't clean up. "You feel like goin' back out, or do ya wanna stay in?" he asked, wrappin' her in his arms again.

Kaylee rubbed her hands over the muscled skin she so loved. "Don't matter if'n I'm with you," she said honestly. "But it'd just kill 'em all if'n we showed up like nothin' had been goin' on."

"You mean…?" His laugh rumbled against the ear she had pressed to his chest.

She grinned up at him. "Take me dancin'."

 

tbc…  
_____________________________________________

 

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	19. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 19**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

_____________________________________

 

Mal frowned around the large fire, searching for his crew and two faces in particular – he could see Zoë and Wash discussing something with two of Jayne's brothers, and Inara was off somewhere with River and Simon…the other Cobbs were taking turns on the instruments and dancing in the middle of the clearing. No one seemed to know exactly where Kaylee had gone off to - likewise with Jayne- so he assumed they were finally working things out. If they weren't, he'd work things out _for_ those two idjits.

He looked over in Inara's direction just as a group of fiddlers started tuning, and the players struck up some sort of toss dance that had the men throwing their female partners high in the air and catching 'em. Mal couldn't repress a grin at the thought of Inara being part of this particular dance; she'd most like tell him he could go his own way if he so much as suggested it, and he glanced back at the dancers just in time to see Jayne and Kaylee whirl on past like nothing had ever been wrong. _Whu-huh? _ "You see that?" he blurted when Zoë and Wash came to sit beside him.

Wash was confused. "What? What're we looking at? I do- hey, it's Kaylee! And Jayne!"

"And do you see what they're _doing? _"

Zoë just blinked at him. "Looks as if they're dancing, Sir."

"But…but…they ain't supposed to like each other any more," and he floundered for appropriate words before throwing his hands up in the air. "Look, I give up. Someone wanna tell me how they got to be dancing together when not even three hours ago they weren't even lookin' at each other?"

His first mate shook her head at him and pulled on her husband's hand. "Let's go get something to eat, Wash."

She knew something about this whole mess, he could feel it. "You know somethin' I don't?"

"Could be possible, Sir." With a grin that was downright wicked, she left him gawping like a fish just as River sat down beside him to watch the dancers.

At least he could talk to _her_ 'thout getting the run around. "How goes it, Albatross?" She looked a great deal better now than she had when Jayne'd first brought her back to the ship.

River smiled, her eyes fixed on Kaylee as Jayne flung the mechanic about. "Better than the galley counter," was all she said before Ehren came up, just about tripping all over himself to ask her for a dance. "Although the probability of being tread upon is highest with you, I believe that it is safe to accept," she informed the youngest Cobb, who gave her a confused look and scratched his head.

"Go dance with the girl," Mal sighed. "She just said yes."

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Jayne tossed her into the air easily, whirlin' her about when she came down without missin' a beat. A couple near them started laughin' and gave up when they fell out of step and another stepped out when the man accidentally dropped his partner, who started scoldin' him somethin' fierce. Kaylee giggled as the woman went off to the side, rubbin' her _pi gu. _ "You ain't gonna drop me, are ya, _wenshen? _"

"Couldn't even if'n I tried to," he assured her. Beside 'em another couple went sprawlin' and he tossed her higher, Kaylee's arms comin' around his neck trustingly when he caught her. "How long we gotta stick around?"

"You ready to go another round _already? _"

"Hell, girl…I'm always ready to roll ya," he winked, droppin' out of step on purpose and leadin' her to the side of the fire where it seemed like everyone on Haven was ready to say somethin' to 'em.

Looked like Mattie was nearly ready to burst into tears at the sight of him with Kaylee, and his brothers just elbowed each other and grinned. Mal's mouth opened and closed when Kaylee plopped down on Jayne's lap. "Good. Just….good," was all the captain said before clearing his throat loudly and movin' off like he had something important to be doin'. Kaylee cuddled close like nothin' had ever been wrong, and Jayne wrapped his arms around his gigglin' lapful of meili mechanic.

"Might as well move on, there ain't nothin' to see," he said calmly when Dhani started pesterin' him with questions. After another hour, they'd finally started to get used to seein' him with Kaylee on his lap though Mattie was about to make him sick by cooin' over 'em like she hadn't never 'seen a sweeter sight like it' whenever she passed by on a rest from dancin' with their brothers and some of the miners.

He reluctantly stood when a call was sent out for him to play guitar, and Kaylee gave him a kiss before wanderin' off to one side to greet her friends cheerfully while he settled down closer to the fire with his guitar and tried to concentrate on playin'. _Funny that I spent so much gorram time away from her an' ignorin' her, but now we got things settled I don't wanna do nothin' but be close enough to touch. _ As if she understood – and she probably did, their thoughts always seemed to work together – Kaylee came back to sit cross-legged in front of him and sing along with the song he was playin' until he got himself so distracted by they way the firelight reflected off her skin he started messin' up.

His brothers loudly applauded each wrong chord he struck until he set the guitar down and glared at 'em, then went right back on playin' til he messed up again when Kaylee started lickin' her lips in just the same way whenever she was wantin' to give him some quality _kou jiao_. "Gorrammit, you can find someone else to play for ya," he finally said in frustration and passed the guitar to Aden, who was laughin' like an idiot, so he could grab up Kaylee and tote her back to Serenity to love on her some more. He had better work set out for him than just playin' a gorram guitar for other folk.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee laughed and darted out of reach when Jayne tried to scoop her up and haul her off. "Jayne! We should stay around; it ain't right to just run off again after only a few minutes."

"You ain't been doin' nothin' but tease me," he complained. "How'm I supposed to concentrate on anything?"

He pulled her against him and gave her that look she never could resist. "Just a few more dances more, then we can go back," she promised, meltin' against him to rest her head against his chest. Tien, she'd missed him. A sudden thought struck her and she looked up at him. "So, when you was off bein' a _hundan_, how many whores did you visit?"

Jayne winced and shifted uncomfortably. "Well…"

"I knew it," she hooted.

"No, it weren't nothin' like that, baby girl – I swear," he protested. "It was just… this one time, and… well, it didn't work out proper."

She started giggling at how uncomfortable he looked, and at how he thought she figured it was a big deal about him sexin' someone else. Well, she could admit deep down inside that she didn't really like it – Jayne was pretty much all hers and she liked to keep it that way, but she'd never been the type of woman to get jealous easily. "What d'ya mean, didn't work out? Hydraulics-wise? You ain't never had no problems with that; I think you're probably _too _excitable."

Jayne looked sheepish, scratchin' his head. "Well, I know it – most of the time I just didn't want nothin', but then… hell, we didn't even get to it an' she started remindin' me that she weren't you."

"Really? You couldn't get it up 'cause she weren't me?"

"Yeah…"

"I think that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard," she said softly, snugglin' up against him. River and Simon came over to further derail Jayne's plans for more sexin', and she embraced the younger Tam happily. "You feelin' alright, girl?" she asked, concerned. The last time she'd seen River, the other girl'd been screamin' so loud it'd broken Kaylee's heart not to be able to do anything to help her.

River smiled tentatively. "I feel much better – just like both of you."

"Hey, look – sorry I had to smack ya. No hard feelin's, right?" Jayne asked with a worried-lookin' frown. "I ain't gotta watch out for no knives, do I?"

"Jayne!" Kaylee scolded. River assured him he had nothing to worry about if he'd only dance with her, and Jayne made a big show of rollin' his eyes before pulling her out in the middle of the others and flingin' her around while Kym snagged her for a dance the moment he saw Jayne leave her side.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Wakin' up on the hard, cold floor of Kaylee's bunk was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him in the past six months – granted, he'd rather be actually _in_ the bed with her an' a gorram sight warmer, but still. Jayne smiled and sat up, yawning as he eyed the little woman takin' up all the mattress space. He eased himself under the covers with her as she started to wake up and pulled her into his arms – Kaylee smiled and snuggled up to him, as happy about wakin' up with him as he'd felt about wakin' up with her. "Mornin', _ai ren_," he whispered.

"Mmmmmmm," she murmured contentedly, buryin' her nose in his neck. "Like wakin' up with you…wish you weren't so cold, though."

"Then quit shovin' me out the gorram bed! Don't seem right that such a bitty little runt could take up so much space."

Kaylee struggled free of his arms and pounced on him. "A _runt? _ You take that back, y'hear? I'll tell your momma," she threatened

He looked up at the ladder of the bunk, pretendin' not to notice her. "Next time I see Mal, I'll have to tell him 'bout the teeny bugs in Kaylee's bunk – one just landed right on me."

"I'll give _you_ a 'teeny bug'," Kaylee giggled, tuggin' at his pajama bottoms and shovin' a hand inside.

"Well, I reckon they ain't that bad – hope they ain't the bitin' kind though," Jayne teased, more than willin' to play along with her. He rolled on top of her after he shoved his sleep pants down to his ankles and kicked 'em off, and she opened her legs to him eagerly. The playfight had fired her up enough so that he slid in easily, rocking gently as soon as he'd seated himself fully inside her. "_Aiya, _ you feel so good," he groaned out. Kaylee's hands settled on his hips, the sound of her whimperin' urging him on as he loved on her slowly.

They'd just rolled apart when Kaylee started whisperin' to him how glad she was that he was there to stay, and his eyes widened in horror as he remembered what he'd done right before he'd left Silverhold. "...an' I know Mal won't object to it," she finished softly.

_Oh, no; I gotta tell her_. "Uh, _xin gan? _ I dunno if'n I _can_ come back so soon…" he quickly explained about signing the contract for the transport, and how he had to leave to come to her.

"Saints alive, Jayne Cobb!" she was more horrified than angry at him, but he scooted away a bit just to make sure she wouldn't start smackin' him none. "You're a contract jumper! Why in the 'verse didja have to sign anything to begin with?"

Kaylee was growin' more and more upset by the second, and he tugged her over into his arms to stroke her back soothingly. "Weren't no other way he'd let me have a job, girl – 'course now I wish I'd never signed nothin', but ain't like it'll be forever… just three months an' I'll ask Mal to take me on again. Maybe Ma can spare one of the boys to crew for ya 'til then…" he hid his distress at the thought of bein' separated from her again so soon, since he'd heard Wash talkin' about heading back to Silverhold after a week of layin' low. Jayne wondered aloud whether Mattie would agree to crew for Mal – he knew she could handle it, and she'd be real shiny company for Kaylee. But maybe not, since she was nearly as bitty as Kaylee was… Mattie could handle herself and whoever else needed handlin', but she weren't real intimidatin'. Maybe Sascha or Aden? "I'll get Ehren to stay on 'til I'm free and clear," he decided. "He could bear some watchin', but he could use the experience and he'd do good."

"Rather just have you," Kaylee seethed, and he laughed.

"Me too, baby girl. Me too." She clung to him suddenly like she was afraid he'd leave right then and there, and he pushed her back in the blankets gently to reassure her the best way he knew how.

When he told them, the rest of Serenity's crew reacted almost the same way Kaylee had, but he was prepared for it and just let it slide on past him when Wash started up makin' fun of his brain size again. Shepherd approved, said a man should keep his word, an' that went a decent way to ease Kaylee's mind about it as the week passed far too quickly for his taste. All too soon they were loadin' back on Serenity and his brothers were sayin' their goodbyes to the new friends they'd picked up. The Daison's Second answered the Wave Jayne sent, like the man was surprised or somethin' that he kept his word, and arranged a meetin' in the Silverhold docks with him; Mal offered to go along, make sure terms stayed fair, but he declined. He'd deal with the mess he made by himself; sooner that was done, the sooner he could come back to Kaylee.

The last day on Serenity with her was one of the hardest times he'd ever gone through, even knowin' for true that she loved him – he guessed it was just knowin' what he'd miss that did it. He didn't let an hour pass that he didn't remind her how much he loved her, ignorin' the looks he was gettin' from everyone else. He'd probably get about a million Waves from his Ma when she heard about all this, he thought ruefully. He planned to tell her to just Wave Kaylee and get it over with.

He bent to kiss Kaylee one last time before he pulled on his clothes and climbed up the ladder of her bunk, hearin' her big boots come clompin' up after him slowly. "No snifflin', girl," he warned her as he helped her up onto the Mule. Four of his brothers were comin' with him to catch transports back to the moon his family lived on; Ehren was stayin' with Serenity like Jayne'd asked, and Mattie was subbing for one of Monty's crew who was on leave. He and Kaylee held hands the whole way there, and it was hard to tell which of 'em was hangin' on harder. _Wode Tian, I don't wanna go. _

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Zoë stood apart with Wash as Kaylee and Jayne said their farewells, glancing over at her husband as Kaylee suddenly flung herself in the big merc's arms and struggled visibly not to burst into tears. "Can we move it along?" the captain, so skinny she could almost see through the man, asked her irritably.

"Girl's saying goodbye to her man – wouldn't rush it if I were you and didn't want a bullet behind my ear," she said calmly. She wondered just how long the man would last in Jayne's presence, given that he'd doubled his service time for a contract jumping penalty – didn't make sense, since most jumpers never returned to take up their original commission. He should have just been grateful that Jayne came back to honor the contract he'd signed.

It had been hard enough on Kaylee to face losing Jayne again for only three months; now it was six… she figured he'd serve well enough for his original time before starting to raise Almighty Hell at the beginning of the fourth month. Actually, Zoë secretly hoped he would – she'd placed a bet against Wash on it, and a hefty load of chores were riding on Jayne's behavior.

Jayne led Kaylee back over to them with an arm around her shoulders. "I'll be seein' ya," he said in farewell, nodding to each of them in turn. "Appreciate you lookin' out for Ehren; he ain't a bad kid, just a bit too lively for his own good at times. He'll do ya proud, don't worry."

"Reckon if we can handle you, we can handle your kin," Zoë smiled. After a few more parting words and embracing Kaylee a final time, Jayne shouldered his pack and walked back up the ramp, the hatch nearly closing right on his heels as the Daison's captain was plainly anxious to leave. Kaylee sniffled miserably as they walked to a safe distance to watch the ship launch, and Zoë put her arm around the younger woman's shoulders comfortingly just as Wash moved to her other side. "He'll be back before you know it to cause trouble and make the captain threaten to space him."

The mechanic dashed the tears from her eyes and smiled bravely. "Yeah, I guess."

Wash spoke up then, and his words reminded Zoë exactly why she married him in the first place. "Don't forget about Ehren being on board with us – that way you can get him to tell you more about Jayne," he suggested. "I'm sure he'd love to talk about his big brother when he can't be yelled at for it."

Kaylee brightened instantly. "That's so – I bet he's got lots of stories Jayne would never think to tell me." She smiled as she walked ahead of them to the Mule, and Zoë looked over at Wash.

"Now that, Husband, is why I love you."

Wash widened his eyes at her innocently. "And here I thought it was because of that thing I can do with my back."

Sighing and shaking her head, Zoë Washburne gave her beloved husband a slight shove into a nearby mud puddle.

 

tbc…  
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	20. More Than Friends

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |   
[fic](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [firefly](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/firefly), [jayne cobb](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne%20cobb), [jayne/kaylee](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/jayne/kaylee), [kaylee frye](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/kaylee%20frye), [more than friends](http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/tag/more%20than%20friends)  
  
---|---  
  
_**More Than Friends - 20/20**_  
**Title:** More Than Friends  
**Author:** [](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/profile)[**ladytalon1**](http://ladytalon1.livejournal.com/)  
**Pairing:** Jayne/Kaylee  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not making any $$  
**A/N:** Yes, this is the last installment - thank you to all who have followed this tale to its conclusion, it's been fun! :) As always, hover for translations

 

[ ](http://photobucket.com)

 

__________________________________________

 

Jayne tried his best to behave, he truly did – after all, he didn't want nobody to think he was some gorram contract jumper. Least of all Kaylee though it seemed like, just this once, she wouldn't mind if he just 'accidentally' forgot he was s'posed to hang tight on the Daison for his whole time. He could see why the captain tacked on the extra time, could even say in his less-lonesome moments that he'd do the same… but mostly it made him so irritated he found himself drawin' a bead on the hundan when he was supposed to be guardin' him. _ I didn't hafta come back to this heap a'_ gos se _at all. _ He frowned down at Boo and picked her up for cleanin'. _So why did I? Ain't like I ever cared none 'bout what folks think of me_. He reckoned it was all Kaylee Frye's fault he started growin' a conscience.

Thoughts of his best girl made him smile and shake his head as he reached to pick up the rag he was oilin' his weapons with. _Ai ya_, he missed her. Goin' on a month and a half without her, with only the occasional Wave whenever they were dirtside; captain had some mighty strange ideas 'bout usin' the Cortex, said it let in sin or some such crazy thing. Hell, Moonbrain was more 'with it' than he was – Jayne expected he knew full well why he'd only talked with the Second. _If'n I hear one more ruttin' word 'bout how drinkin' and whorin' ain't allowed while I'm inside this hull, I swear I'll nail the_ chun zi _right 'twixt the eyes_. He didn't have much truck with whores these days – well, not at all since Kaylee'd shown him that a lovin' armful was better than paid tail any day of the year – but not allowin' _booze_ on ship was just plain beyond his ken.

Funny thing was how the others acted like they were some sort of pack of ruttin' saints or somethin' when the captain was sniffin' around checkin' everyone's breath …and he did, every time they were completin' a haul. Jayne grinned again as he thought of the trick he'd played on the fool last time; for only a couple small coins he'd bought the nastiest cheese he could find and ate it all right before roll call. Captain Taylor was probably still unable to breathe proper, seein' as how he kept gaggin' the whole time they were loadin' back up. Jayne figured the coin he'd spent as well as the rancid taste in his mouth was a shiny trade-off for not havin' 'em all in his face. At least it kept the pilot off his case and not tryin' to sneak down into his bunk for a tussle. Now _that_ had been a surprise, to wake up one night and find the scrawny little man tryin' to get some touch… he figured all pilots must be basically _you jing shen bing._ Kaylee'd had a real good giggle outta the whole thing when he'd told her about it.

He'd just started up writin' her letters, not mindin' that paper was hard to come by sometimes and cost him as much as some of his ammo. She was worth it, and he made sure to let her know it each time he got to talk to her – he wasn't gonna make the mistake of keepin' silent on how he felt ever again. Ehren seemed to be settlin' in well, and he was proud of his little brother; he just hoped the_ pi hua_ he'd been hearin' about Ehren followin' River around wasn't true. Lord only knew the 'verse didn't need no crazy little critters runnin' around…

After all his weapons were cleaned and locked up, Jayne swung his coat over his shoulders and headed out through the hatch after noddin' to the Super Cargo as he went past. He found the closest Cortex screen and punched in Serenity's code. "Well, look who it is – have you killed any of your new shipmates yet?" Wash asked cheerfully.

"Heya, Wash," he greeted. "You know I'm on contract an' that means no killin' the crew. Kaylee busy?" The pilot transferred him to Kaylee's bunk, and he grinned at the sight of her shimmyin' down the ladder before she got up close to the screen. "Lookin' good, _ai ren. _"

Kaylee smiled sweetly at him. "You too, _bao bei_. How you been? I sure miss you; can't rightly believe your captain don't like the Cortex," she pouted.

"Miss you too, darlin'…" they talked about everything and nothin' 'til he realized that he'd best get going, and signed off regretfully. "Love you, baby girl."

She leaned forward and planted her lips on the screen to send him a kiss. "Love you too, _wenshen. _ Come back safe," Kaylee said like always and he told her that he'd try, like he always did. He kissed the tips of his fingers and reached to touch the Cortex screen before he signed off and headed back to the ship.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

The months seemed to crawl by for Kaylee, with only the rest of the crew and Jayne's _di di _to keep her from goin' crazy. Nearest she could tell, Jayne's new captain'd never gotten no sexin' a day in his life, he was bein' so cruel to 'em. She knew it was just payback for Jayne leavin' on Silverhold when he coulda stayed on to honor the contract but that didn't sweeten her towards him any. Yesterday was the day Jayne was s'posed to have been kicked loose, and she shoulda had him in her bed by now… but the _shagua_ had doubled her man's time an' it would be three more months before he was back where he belonged.

She was busy helpin' Wash with some wiring when the Wave came through, and she smiled at Mattie. "Hey there," she greeted her friend fondly. "How's Monty treatin' ya?"

Mattie grinned back. "He's real sweet. Listen, we're fixin' to do a job on Highgate in a week – Monty said to contact you, see if'n Mal wanted to help out movin' some cargo. I hear it's a big haul," she said, startin' to cough for some reason. Kaylee wondered what was wrong with her. "So just have Mal send a Wave in a few days, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Seeing Jayne's sister on the screen reminded her that she hadn't heard from him in a while. "You heard from Jayne lately?"

Mattie started giggling somethin' fierce. "Yeah, he says he's fine – didn't have time to send but the one Wave," she explained when she saw how disappointed Kaylee looked. "I gotta go, but maybe I'll see ya next week?" Jayne's _mei mei_ signed off after getting another attack of the giggles and Kaylee just shook her head, wonderin' what was so funny. Well, even if she didn't hear from Jayne, she could at least spend some time with Mattie.

Mal agreed to helpin' Monty out and Kaylee was set to run off in search of her friend when they touched down on HIghgate but was warned that she'd have to finish stackin' the cargo first. She raised her eyebrows and started to protest that she was just fixin' to say hello then come right back, and when hadn't she helped him out first, but Mal gave her that look again. "Don't be runnin' off, _mei mei. _"

She grumbled under her breath when the captain pointed to a stack of goods, and went over to get the boxes stacked on the Mule. Ehren went past her for another pile with Wash beside him. Just as she reached for the first box, someone grabbed her about the waist and a kiss was planted on the back of her neck before she could scream. "Hey there, baby girl."

"Jayne!" Kaylee wriggled in his grasp and he set her down just long enough for her to turn about, then scooped her back up in his arms to kiss her breathless. "Whatcha doin' here?" she asked softly when he plopped her atop a crate and rested his hands on her thighs.

"Crewin' for Monty, ain't I?" he replied, smilin' big.

She gave the big merc a disapproving look. "Now, you know well as I do that your contract was added to, Jayne Cobb. You didn't kill him or nothin', didja?"

"Course not, _bao bei_. Thought about it many a time though," Jayne admitted while rubbin' a hand over his chin where, she was plenty pleased to see, his goatee had grown out. _Ai ya, _ her man was a _swai _devil. "I just gave him so much _gos se_ 'bout keepin' me on when I coulda just jumped the gorram contract all together that he traded me off to Monty." His blue eyes twinkled. "Guess he didn't take too kindly to havin' the sump re-directed into his bunk, but you never know what'll set a man off."

Kaylee clapped a hand over her mouth. "You _didn't_…! Jayne!"

He winked at her. "Well, weren't nothin' ever proved that said I was the one who did it." Jayne joined in her laughter and reached for the crates. "Mal says that if'n I get all the cargo stowed real quick, we can spend some time while he talks to Monty," he enticed with another grin. "Cap'n seems to think all I'm fixin' to do is hold your hand or somethin'… hell, we'll have that bed of your'n rattlin' inside five minutes if ya help me load up."

"Sounds like a mighty fine deal," she grinned back.

Serenity had probably never had cargo loaded that fast before and by the time Mal had announced they were ready for lift off, Kaylee was still legless from the intensity of her big man's sexin'. She knew from experience that Jayne liked to spend time when he was lovin' on her but gor_ram_ if'n he wasn't just as good for a quick tussle. "Look, we'll be back at Silver Hold in a few weeks to restock the galley an' all that… I could get us a private place if Mal's gonna be anywhere around," he suggested, leanin' down to kiss her in farewell. "I'll Wave ya tomorrow?"

Kaylee wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss. "Tonight would be better," she insisted. "I love you, _wenshen. _"

"Love you too, girl," Jayne murmured. "An' tonight it is." He gave her an affectionate spank towards Serenity and nodded to Mal as he went past to Monty's ship – Mattie waved at her from the ramp and she felt a tiny pang that she hadn't even talked to her friend at all; she'd apologize for her rudeness after she'd talked to her man. Then she remembered that Mattie hadn't even warned her about Jayne and she felt a mite better. _Serve her right, too. _

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

"Kaylee? Wave for you!" Mal shook his head as Kaylee came barreling past him, nearly shoving him down the hatch of his open bunk in her hurry to reach the nearest Cortex screen. "Well, 'scuse the _di yu_ outta me…"

He couldn't help but grin as she stuck her head up on the bridge. "Now, no peekin'! Jayne and me got private things to say," she warned Wash, as if any of them would even _think_ of eavesdropping after what they'd seen that one time. Mal still wanted to stick a red-hot poker in his eyes after _that_; he figured it'd been Jayne's idea to keep the rest of 'em from listening in and boy howdy, had it worked! Kaylee ran past him in the other direction to her bunk, and he heard her voice soften the second she dropped down from the ladder. "Hey there, _ai ren_…"

River let out an almighty shriek from where she was on the bridge, so Mal hurried to see what was wrong. "Albatross? What-" he blinked to see the girl with her hands clapped over her eyes. "Oh. They at it again?"

"Man parts are everywhere," River wailed hopelessly.

Wash made a gagging sound and Mal's hands itched for that red-hot poker. "Well, that's something I could go for a spell _never thinking about again. _"

"Do I want to know what's being said up here?" Zoë asked curiously, sticking her head in.

"Honey, just back away slowly to avoid all mention of man parts," Wash commented, still looking horrified.

The first mate wrinkled her nose. "Oh."

Inara called to Mal from the entrance to the galley and he went gladly; it seemed no matter how much time they spent together, he could never make up for all that was wasted. "I take it Jayne Waved Kaylee again?" she asked, an amused smile hovering on her lips.

Mal bent to kiss those mightily temptin' lips. "Yes ma'am. Little one's goin' spare at the thought of the parts bein' shown to Kaylee right about now."

Inara just laughed. "It's good that they can be intimate with each other even if they can't be together physically."

"What? _Good? _ No, it ain't! Not when the intimacy is bein' beamed aboard my ship where anyone could just accidentally see it and then wish they were blind!"

She gave him a look. "Perhaps you shouldn't have been watching in the first place, Malcolm…how long will it be until his contract with Monty is up?"

Mal sighed. "Little over a month, now." He wasn't about to say it aloud, but he missed having the merc around – they'd had their differences, and would have 'em til the day they both died. Ehren was shaping up to be a fine young man, but he'd gotten used to the big man's presence… and there was no denyin' that Serenity ran smoother with a happy mechanic. And happy she was whenever they made landfall and Monty just _happened_ to be parked on the same slab of rock; Jayne would appear and haul Kaylee off, wavin' in acknowledgment when Mal yelled that she needed to be back before a certain time. She always came back flushed and happy – and really, who could grudge her that?

Jayne always made sure to send some hooch back with her too, and then Mal really couldn't grudge her anything.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Kaylee's eyes flew open and she scrambled to sit up and check the calendar she'd pinned to the wall right beside the purple hat Jayne's Ma had sent her. Only two more days, and then Jayne would come back to her for good. She couldn't rightly understand why she'd been filled with such a longing for him lately – well, she understood the longin' part of it but she'd been away from him for longer periods of time than this. Maybe it was just the fact that his time was nearly up… Just a few weeks ago they'd been on Persephone and Jayne had gotten a room at some fancy hotel for 'em – they'd had dinner, a bath together, and then he'd nearly sexed her blind.

She giggled. He was probably still complaining that his back hurt after all that ruttin', but she paid his grousin' no mind – he always liked to tease her about how much of his lovin' it took to make her satisfied, and thought it was the shiniest thing in the whole 'verse whenever she asked for more. Kaylee thought about Waving him so they could do somethin' naughty like they did that one time –_ ai ya_, that'd been fun – but figured she could handle waiting. Inara was always tellin' her about absence and all that… she just planned to get Jayne so wound up that it took him a week to let her up for air.

Throwin' on her clothes, she hurried to the galley for breakfast and smiled at Ehren who was tryin' to keep his attention focused on his food while River danced around the table; it slopped off his spoon anyway as he kept lookin' at her. "Cap'n says Jayne'll be back in a few days, so I guess it's off to home fer me," Ehren sighed, still starin' at River.

Kaylee bit her lip, realizing how it must seem to the younger boy, and put a hand on his much larger one. "Look, 'ren, I'm sorry that you gotta go… I don't mean to be so excitable 'bout Jayne comin' back to replace you, I really don't. It's been real shiny havin' you here."

Ehren ducked his head. "'Sokay, I understand. It's Jayne's place here anyhow – it's just that…" blue eyes the mirror of his _ge ge_'s flicked towards River, who stopped twirlin' suddenly and looked at him mournfully.

She nudged him. "Ain't you even told her how you feel?" she asked, already knowin' the answer.

Ehren shook his head, blushin'. "Can't do that."

Kaylee frowned. "Look here, Ehren Philip Cobb – that brother of your'n wasted years not speakin' on how he felt, and just look what happened?" Ehren recoiled from her glare. "You go right on up to that girl right now and give her a kiss!"

He turned an even brighter shade of red and started stutterin'. "B-b-but, I-"

River came over and stood beside her, fidgetin' all nervous-like as she heard what Kaylee was thinkin'. She looked at Ehren under her lashes. "Kissing can burn calories," she said to no one in particular.

Kaylee grinned. "You two go on down to the cargo bay, if'n you're done with breakfast."

Ehren nearly overturned his bowl in alarm when River held out a hand to him. "Um, I dunno – I just – okay," he stammered, nearly trippin' all over himself as his hand touched the Reader's.

When Mal came in a few minutes later, he was shakin' his head. "Saw the damndest thing in the cargo bay just now."

"Didja really?" Kaylee smiled innocently and drizzled honey on her mash, pointin' towards the stove. "Made some tea."

The captain reached for the pot with a sleepy grunt of thanks. "'Bout time those two got a move on. I'm thinkin' all that waitin' and fussin' must be a Cobb thing."

Her eyes narrowed. "Hey, watch it."

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Jayne folded the last of his clothes and pushed 'em into his duffle while his _mei mei_ watched, checkin' his gun cases one last time and glancing round the bunk to make sure he'd gotten everything. "You know, we'd take you straight there if ya wanted to wait a few more days," Monty's Second sighed from the doorway. "Got us a job and could use you for true."

He shook his head. "Any other time, I'd be glad to help ya out."

"But not this time cause you got Kaylee waitin' for your worthless ass, right?"

Mattie giggled, and Jayne grinned. "Right."

They touched down on Persephone, and Monty made no effort at hiding his disappointment at losin' him. "You ever change your mind about Mal's rusty death trap, you give ol' Monty a Wave and we'll see what we can do for ya," the older man said, pullin' on his moustaches that made him look like one of them walruses Jayne'd seen captures of when he'd been a boy.

Monty offered his hand, and Jayne clasped it readily. "If you ever need a gun hand an' a mechanic, I'll think about it," he smiled. "Me an' Kaylee come as a matched set."

"Never thought I'd see the day when you settled down," the other man shook his head in mock disbelief.

Jayne grinned. "My Ma always had quite a bit to say 'bout the word 'never'… look, I'm mightily obliged to you for all you done," he said seriously.

The other man gave him a hearty buffet on the shoulder. "Get outta here, boy; I don't wanna be explainin' to an angry lil' lady about what's keepin' you." Jayne shouldered his bag and picked up his gun cases – givin' the other crew a nod and Mattie a hug an' a kiss on the cheek, he walked down Monty's ramp for the last time.

He booked passage halfway to Beaumond on a small passenger freighter, scowlin' at the man in charge of loadin' up. "You best make sure nothin' happens to them bags," he warned and the way the little fei ren turned white made him satisfied that nothing would happen to his girls. The other crew members and passengers stayed out of his way, a thing that suited him just fine… he spent most of his time in his berth thinkin' on Kaylee, finishing the letters he'd been writin' to her, and wonderin' what she'd think of the gifts he'd gotten for her.

Jayne opened his duffel and pulled out the gifts, runnin' his fingers over the silk of the pale pink kimono. Kaylee'd love it for sure; he'd also picked out a handful of the frilliest, girliest clothes he could find – he'd prefer some of the slinkier things, but she'd look real cute in all them ruffles. His eyes rested on the most important gift, but he didn't take it out to remind himself what it looked like. Tien willin', she'd like that one the best.

At the transfer point, his was the first cargo to be unloaded like they couldn't wait to get rid of him. He smiled to himself and grabbed up his guns, headin' off to find a ship bound for Beaumond. Waitin' for the loadin' time would've normally driven him up the wall, but when the boarding call finally came he just repeated his threat of bodily harm if his girls went missin' and found his bunk… again, it took half a gorram year afore they were underway but he endured it with a lighter heart because he was on his way to Kaylee.

Persephone seemed a lot bigger this time round. Jayne rammed his broad brimmed hat onto his head and squinted in the afternoon sun's glare as he made his way to the landing field. He'd already caught a little sneak tryin' to pick his pocket and sent the scrawny boy off with the fear of Tien put in him, and he'd caught sight of Badger tryin' to cheat someone else in the market.

When he finally located Serenity, Jayne stood for a while and looked his fill at the Firefly class ship that'd become his home – it was odd to think that the beaten up hunk of metal was the one place where he'd never stopped wishin' he was during the past year, but the one thing that made it his home more than anything was currently twirlin' a colored umbrella at the top of the ramp. Jayne fought the urge to just go barrelin' through the crowd to her and walked around real slow, lookin' his fill at the tiny mechanic who meant more to him than anything in the 'verse.

He stopped to study his reflection in a piece of shined-up metal, glad that he was wearin' his new clothes – Kaylee wouldn't recognize him in them, so he could surprise her. Well, if'n the fact that he was a good couple inches taller than everyone else didn't tip her off that it was him. Jayne ambled around the side of the landin' field, eyes fixed on Kaylee and watchin' as she scanned the crowd every so often; he reached the side of the ramp just as Wash, Zoë, and Mal came by on the Mule. Loungin' against the hull, he waited til Kaylee kissed Mal on the cheek for bringin' her an engine part before steppin' forward.

"Is any of that for me?"

"_Jayne! _" Kaylee squealed and launched herself at him, knockin' him onto his pigu as she planted kisses all over his face.

"Whoa there, baby doll," he laughed, tryin' to get a word in edgewise as she babbled on how happy she was to see him. "Lemme get my ass out of the dust. Permission to come aboard, Cap'n?"

"People are starin'," Mal warned. "Get up here."

Zoë was watching them with an amused look on her face. "I don't know, Sir – might be good for business if people think we're this friendly with all our passengers," she deadpanned. Wash guffawed like that was the best thing he'd ever heard in his life, and called Ehren to come help with Jayne's cargo. Jayne had only a little time to be surprised at the way River was hangin' around his brother and the cow's eyes they were makin' at each other before Kaylee grabbed him again.

Mal made the decision to look for passengers the next day since Kaylee was too busy kissin' on Jayne to spare the time, and he sent them off to her bunk with a warning that he wouldn't put up with any more 'tomfoolery' now Jayne was back on the crew.

After a mightily satisfyin' round in the blankets, Jayne stroked Kaylee's hair with one hand and reached for his bag with the other. "Got some stuff for you, _bao bei_."

Kaylee sat up cross-legged and nekkid as the day she'd been born, clappin' like a little girl. "Oooh, presents!" She gasped over the kimono and oohed over the other clothes, nearly jumped him when she saw the tools he'd bought her, but when he reached for the last gift, she stopped him. "Hang on a sec, I got somethin' for you too."

"You sure you don't want this'un first?" Jayne tempted with a grin.

She wriggled excitedly, plainly wantin' to see what it was. But she shook her head. "I wanna give you yours first, _dong ma? _"

"I don't need nothin' but you," he protested, tryin' to reach for her.

Kaylee batted his hands away, and started lookin' nervous. "I, uh, hope ya want it. Had it made special an' everything, but if'n you don't want it that's okay." She reached beneath the pillows and brought out a small box, shovin' it at him as she bit her lip.

He reached out to take it, opening the lid and starin' down in shock at what was in the box. "Is this what I think it is?"

She started blushin' all over. "Yeah."

Well, he'd be gorramed. "Don't you know you're s'posed to ask proper?" Jayne started to smile; he guessed River weren't the only genius on board who could read minds.

Kaylee's smile just about lit up the whole bunk as she took the box back from him. "Jayne Austen Cobb, will you marry me?"

He stroked his goatee and pretended to think, but couldn't keep the foolish grin off his face. "Yes." Jayne held out his left hand and she slid the heavy silver ring onto his finger before leapin' into his arms for a kiss. "I ain't never had no one ask me to marry her before," he teased.

"An' you'd better not have anyone ask you ever again," Kaylee laughed, kissing him. "What were you gonna give me?" she asked after they came up for air.

Jayne reached into his bag and pulled out a box that was slightly smaller than the one she'd given him. "Just this. I guess I don't gotta worry about whether or not you want it, huh?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Nah."

After he'd placed the engagement ring onto her finger, he slid his arms around her. "_Wo hui yong yuan ai ni, xin gan. _" Kaylee melted against him as he drew her down to the blankets to make love to her, and joy welled up inside him at the knowledge that he'd be doing this with her for a long, long time. Their path had been full of obstacles and uncertainty, but he wouldn't change it for anything; the best thing that had ever happened to him was in his arms and he blessed the day that they'd become more than friends.

 

~_originellement_~  
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